Hawklet
by Tr8rT00per
Summary: AU story. Clint has a sister, Kate, who is as exceptional as he is with a bow and has just as many trust issues. Until a chance meeting with a certain web-slinger changes things. Established Clint/Natasha, future Peter/Kate. Rating T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Take two! I tried to upload this really early and I had some formatting issues that were bad! Anyways, weird idea that came to me in a dream. Good or bad let me know.**

**This will be a oneshot unless I get feedback saying to continue. So, please review :)**

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_Keep walking. Don't look back. Blend in with this crowd, don't turn down the alley, don't cut through the shop. Keep moving. Don't look back. _

These thoughts echoed through the head of the young woman walking through the congested street in Berlin. She could feel that familiar sensation in the back of her neck that she was being followed. She needed to lose her tail and quickly before she could get to the rendezvous point.

Quickly turning the corner, she slipped down a new alley that she knew had a quick escape route if she needed it. Ducking back into the shadows she waited, watching the front of the alley. Three minutes, that felt like a lifetime, went by before she saw them.

Three JSOC guys dressed in inconspicuous dark clothing came down the alley, weapons drawn, looking around cautiously. It looked like they had tasers and tranq guns, so they weren't there to kill. She could use that.

Carefully, slowly drawing her knife from her boot, she crouched down and waited, slowing her breathing down as a calm came over her. As one stepped within reach she reacted, driving the serrated blade into his thigh before grabbing his hand with the taser. She ripped the blade out and turned the taser into the guys neck, dropping him before quickly propelling herself up and kicking off the alley wall to Superman punch the next in line. She rolled out of it and tased the last, first connecting with his balls (which…ouch) before connecting it with his neck as she stood.

Smoothly grabbing a loose pipe off the ground, she connected it with the temple of the second one as he tried to stand, knocking him out completely. Just for safe measure, she grabbed his tranq gun and shot each once to give herself time to leave. Quickly wiping the blood off her knife, she put the blade away and left the alley. Taking a deep breath as she crossed the plaza and was almost to the other side when someone bumped into her suddenly causing her to stumble.

Surprisingly quick hands shot out and grabbed her arms to steady her.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" A male voice with an American accent said. "Are you okay?"

Turning quickly to face the voice, she looked into gentle brown eyes. "I'm fine." She said quickly stepping back.

The boy, who was about her age, blushed as he let go. "You're American." He said.

"So are you." She replied a little caught off guard by the kids open personality.

"Yeah." He laughed, smiling sweetly as he ran his fingers through his mop of brown hair. "Sorry about running into you like that. It's my first time in Berlin and I was making a video. I wasn't paying attention."

She chuckled light, quickly sweeping the area to make sure she wasn't being followed again. "It's no big deal." She said.

"Hey kid!"

They both looked up startled at the slightly overweight man in a suit, looking at them. The guy had a frazzled look to him, obviously private security.

"Come on!" The guy called impatiently.

"Coming!" The kid next to her called. He smiled at her again with one of those thousand-watt smiles that are like looking into the sun. "Sorry again. See you around, maybe, umm…"

"Kate." She offered unable to help her own smile. _He's really cute. _

The kid smiled brighter if that was possible. "Peter." He replied.

Kate offered a brief wave before she left, losing sight of them and knowing she'd never see the kid again. For now, she had somewhere she had to be.

...

Peter was having fun filming the locations he was getting to see on the way to the hotel. Happy hadn't said anything since they left New York about him filming so he continued to do it. So far, he loved being in Berlin, not even focusing on what was coming up.

As he turned around, taking a panoramic shot of the plaza, he bumped into someone, a girl. Panicking because he accidentally knocked into her too hard, he quickly caught her arms to steady her, trying not to grip her arms too tight. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" He said. "Are you okay?"

The girl who must have been close to his age, looked up, her brunette curls moving aside to reveal shocking blue-grey eyes that caught the sunlight creating a prism of colors. His breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful with tanned, flawless skin and a dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

"I'm fine." She said stepping back a little and he quickly let go, blushing.

"You're American." He commented in surprise, hearing her accent.

She smiled faintly. "So are you."

"Yeah." He laughed awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair. "Sorry about running into you like that. It's my first time in Berlin and I was making a video. I wasn't paying attention."

She laughed and it was like music. "It's no big deal."

"Hey kid!" Peter jumped hearing Happy's shout, which sounded so much louder to his heightened hearing.

The girl jumped too and they both looked up, though she seemed more nervous.

"Come on!" Happy called impatiently.

"Coming!" Peter called and looked back at the girl, really not wanting to leave. He smiled. "Sorry again. See you around, maybe, umm…"

She smiled gently. "Kate."

He couldn't contain the massive smile on his face. "Peter." He said in reply.

Kate smiled briefly and gave a small wave before disappearing into the crowd and he turned back to Happy, practically floating he was so thrilled.

"Come on, we are not here for you to get a date." Happy admonished. "We need to get to the hotel before Tony calls."

Peter swallowed, sobering up a little. Right, he had a job to do. "Sorry Happy." He said.

...

Kate readjusted her grip on her bow as she stood next to Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in the airport terminal. They were waiting until Sam's drone found the Quinjet, but Kate had her eyes fixed on the scene going on down below.

Captain America was facing off against Iron Man and one in a black suit that she didn't know, but the one she was zeroing in on was Natasha.

She tensed, knowing this wasn't going to end well with Nat on an opposing side to them. But she and Clint knew it was going to be this way when he got the call.

Currently, Natasha was trying to appeal to Captain America to get him to just surrender. Unfortunately, now, if Captain America decided to surrender, they all had to and that meant jail time.

"Alright, I've run out of patients." Iron Man said. "Underoos!"

A new masked guy in a red and blue suit flipped out of some hiding spot, using some form of what looked like webbing to steal Cap's shield and tie his hands up in one smooth motion.

Captain America held his composure however and continued trying to talk Iron Man down while stalling.

"We found it." Sam said suddenly into comms. "The Quinjet is in hanger five, north runway."

Captain America raised his hands and Clint fired an arrow to cut the bindings that the one in red had been able to get around his hands.

Kate ran with Bucky and Sam through the terminal heading towards the jet when suddenly they heard a thud. Looking to her left and up, she was startled to see the one in the red and blue suit crawling along the outside of the window.

"What the hell is that?" Bucky asked.

"Everyone's got a gimmick now." Sam muttered.

Kate watched the one in the suit use some sort of webbing to swing himself out and break through the window. Kate stopped just in time for the one in the suit to pass in front of her, so close she felt the tiniest scrape of his suit against her nose right before he took Sam out with a kick.

Bucky threw a punch but the one in red caught it.

"You have a metal arm?" The guy asked in a surprised voice before throwing Bucky backwards. "That is so cool!"

_That voice?_

Kate notched an arrow and was ready to let it fly when the guy turned around.

The eyes of the suit widened, clearly running some kind of mechanics in the suit. Shocked radiated from every ounce of his body language. "Kate?" He asked in surprise.

Her eyes widened. "Peter?"

Just as she said that, Sam came flying in and grabbed him.

_Holy shit._


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, so chapter 2. I'm kind of winging this one a bit because unlike my current major story I have running, Iron Maiden, I didn't have a clear direction for this story. I know some things I want to do but if y'all have requests, shout 'em out. Also, I'm very loosely using concepts from the movies and switching a lot of things around.**

**As always, please review :) let me know if you want this one to continue.**

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_~ "As much as I hate to admit it, if we're going to win this one some of us may have to lose it." ~_

Kate turned away from the window as she heard voices raising from the other side of the room. She watched the two adults in the room argue back and forth as they had been for the last half hour.

"The only reason she isn't in the Raft with them is because T'Challa wouldn't implicate a kid!" Tony Stark was saying. "But if Ross decides to look into Germany, we can't protect her Nat! She's already on their radar because of those JSOC agents in Berlin."

"They don't have any proof that was her." Natasha argued. "She's fifteen, no one will believe that she's capable of that. There isn't any way that even the Secretary of State could get away with imprisoning her without definitive proof."

"I told Clint I would do what I could to protect her." Tony said, voice lowering a bit. "But I can't do that unless I have all the facts. Nat, what aren't you telling me about this?"

"She can't tell you." Kate said speaking for the first time since Germany. "She doesn't know."

Tony turned to her, eyes softening a bit, probably with a little sympathy considering her only family was in a supermax prison in the middle of the ocean. So far, he had been taking the news that Clint had a sister surprisingly well and was actively trying to ensure that she didn't end up behind bars. "Then why don't you fill me in kid?" He said.

Kate walked over to one of the work benches in the lab and effortlessly bypassed the security on it to bring up a projection of a dossier for them to see. Tony didn't say anything about her getting into the system as he and Nat stepped closer to look over the information. She watched the color slowly drain from their faces as they read through what she had brought them.

"This can't be right." Tony said quietly.

Kate pulled up dozens of other files. "S.H.I.E.L.D. did a good job of covering up their mistake in D.C. but Pierce was just the beginning. H.Y.D.R.A. is so deeply ingrained into society to society that no one would have ever seen it." She said. "And the loudest supporter of the Accords had an ulterior motive."

Natasha frowned. "Ross needed the Avengers out of the way." She said.

"It makes sense why he pushed so hard to reboot the super soldier program." Tony said scanning the files.

"Whoever this doctor is, Ross used him to activate Bucky to throw up a smoke screen." Kate said.

Tony's fists clenched tightly. "And we fell right in to it." He said. He looked at Nat. "We need to find them."

Kate looked at the billionaire, debating with herself. "There is something else that they could use to divide you guys." She said carefully. "It involves you directly Mr. Stark."

…

_~ Kate followed Sam and Bucky out onto the tarmac where they rejoined the others. They ran towards the Quinjet, but a beam of energy came down from the sky cutting off their path. Turning her eyes up, Kate got her first look at Vision._

_"Captain Rogers." Vision said in a commanding voice. "I know you believe that what you are doing is right but for the collective good, you must surrender." _

_As Vision spoke, Iron Man and the others formed the line blocking their path to the jet. Kate looked at Peter and saw he was watching her, his body language clearly conflicted._

_"What do we do Cap?" Sam asked. _

_Steve Roger's voice was grim. "We fight." ~_

"Check mate."

Kate Blinker out of her revere as she heard Vision's voice. She looked down at the chess board in surprise, but it only took a moment to realize she had indeed lost. "Dang it." She said. "Where did I go wrong?"

"Ten moves ago when you moved your knight here." Vision said patiently. "It weakened your King's defenses."

Kate nodded, taking it in critically. "I swear by the end of the week I'm gonna bear you at this game." She said with a smile.

Vision actually smiled faintly but they both knew if things went horribly wrong in Siberia then Kate wouldn't be there through the end of the week.

"Why did you stay behind?" Kate finally asked.

"Mr. Stark requested that I protect you should they discover your location before he returns." Vision replied.

Kate chewed on her lower lip as she thought about this. Natasha had to leave because she helped Steve and Bucky escape. Nat was going to be too hot for Kate to travel with her and it would just make her look more guilty, so Kate had to remain at the compound. So really Tony and Vision were the only ones who could help her right now.

"Could I make a personal query?" Vision asked.

Kate nodded with a shrug.

"How long has Clint been your guardian?" He asked.

Taking a breath, she let it out slowly. "Since I was pretty little. Technically, he's my half brother. We just share a father but when my mom decided she would rather put a noose around her neck…Clint made sure I didn't end up in some foster home." She said. "He's all I have left."

She had said the last words quietly, but she had a feeling Vision heard her.

FRIDAY alerted them to a Quinjet approaching. Tony was back, the question was if there was anyone with him.

…

_~ Kate winced as she saw Peter knocked out of the air as Lang crashed to the ground. They were gonna be captured anyways so Kate ran over to make sure he wasn't dead after crashing through some crates. _

_Peter was lying very still. Cautiously she turned him over checking for a pulse seeing his mask pushed up, exposing half his face. _

_Iron Man landed near them suddenly. Kate tensed wondering if he was gonna fire but he seemed to understand she just wanted to make sure Peter was okay. _

_"He'll be okay." She said. Resting a gentle hand on Peter's shoulder, she offered quietly. "I'll watch him." _

_Tony nodded. He paused for a second. "There is a man waiting near here to take him back. His name is Happy, tell him I sent you to go back with Spider-Man, okay? I'll tell your brother you're safe." Once she nodded, he flew off. ~_

Knowing Tony was a good guy from what Clint told her was different than seeing it during a battle. She had been shocked that he let her just get away and trusted that she was going to help Peter and not disappear immediately afterwards.

He had extended that trust to her, so she had extended trust back when she told him about H.Y.D.R.A. and the trust about his parents. She wasn't disappointed with the results.

Steve and Bucky both exited the jet after Tony. They all looked battle weary, but they were still in one piece.

"We received word twenty minutes ago that Zemo was turned in by T'Challa." Vision informed. "So far there had been no alert indicating they know that Captain Rogers or another else is here."

"Good, we need all the head start we can get." Tony said. "Cap, if you two can get to work on everything he can remember that'll be a good place to start."

Steve nodded.

It didn't escape anyone's notice that Tony wasn't talking to Bucky directly, but it was understandable. At least he wasn't trying to kill him. Baby steps.

Kate looked at Tony as he looked at her.

"Okay little Hawk." Tony said. "If we're going to get the bad guys and get your brother back, we have work to do."

Kate nodded. "Tell me what you need."

…

It was around 4:00am that Kate had finally given in to exhaustion after being up for nearly four days. She had vaguely been aware of Vision moving her to the sofa from the desk and covering her up with a blanket.

"Just let her sleep." Tony was saying. "She gave us a good starting place. FRIDAY and I will take over the rest."

"You know it won't be long before Ross is here." Steve replied. "Accessing these files, H.Y.D.R.A. won't let her just walk away."

Kate was waking up but kept her eyes closed and remained still so she could listen. She had yet to hear Tony and Steve talk to one another since they got back.

"Then we have our work cut out for us then." Tony replied flatly like the answer was obvious.

There was a long pause. "Why did you agree to let Bucky come back?" Steve asked finally.

The silence following that question was deafening. Kate was nearly afraid to breathe into the silence.

"Right now, he's the best chance we have of clearing everyone else from their charges." Tony finally spoke. "Clint is all she has left…I'm not letting H.Y.D.R.A. create another orphan."


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright guys, new chapter. I'm honestly debating if I should continue this but I may just be struggling with writer's block right now. Please let me know if you want me to continue. I will bring Peter back in the next chapter if I continue. Also I know I've been experimenting with using flashbacks a lot in the story but I kind of started In Media Res so forgive me while I get caught up. **

**As always, please review :) I may not update unless I get a couple more reviews to see if you guys actually want the story to continue.**

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_~ "So, this is it?" Steve asked. "It's everything?"_

_He stood in the lab with Bucky, Kate, Rhodey, Vision and Tony. _

_"I think there is too much here for us to be certain it's everything." Kate said carefully as they all stared at the digital files. _

_"But it's enough for now." Tony said. _

_Kate looked at Tony. Was it going to be enough? ~_

If someone had told her a month ago that she would be sitting with Tony Stark working on upgrades for her arrows, she would have thought they were crazy. Clint wanted her nowhere near the Avengers, while he trusted them with his life, he wasn't quite to a place of trusting them with hers. A lot of things had changed.

Though he had an idea from the moment that he saw her hack into the compound's systems, it was a random accident when Tony found out how good she was with computers and engineering. He had been speaking about the complexities of the Raft prison security system to Steve and Bucky but in such a way that they did not understand because the guy was hyped up on caffeine and was going a million miles an hour. Kate had reiterated it in a way that they understood.

Out of curiosity Tony had her take an aptitude test though he didn't share the results. However, he was willing to let her into the lab after the test so they must have been good. Right?

…

_~ Kate sat cross-legged on the hotel bed twirling one of the arrows that she had selected out of her quiver. She had been stuck in this room for over 12 hours and she was doing everything possible not to have a panic attack. She almost wished she had stayed to be arrested instead of waiting for potential capture in this room. _

_Explaining to Happy what was going on was interesting because the man just seemed to have a level of stress built up impossibly high, but he was no longer surprised by the random things Mr. Stark asked him to do. He had also been willing to go get her bag from the safe house she had been using. The Loft was burnt anyways so she could never use it again. At least now she had clean clothes. _

_A knock on her door startled her out of thought. She looked up, tensing, fingers closing around her bow just in case as the door opened. It was just Happy. _

_"Come on kid." Happy said somberly. "It's time to go."_

_Feeling her heart jump into her throat, she moved to comply, throwing her weapons into her duffle bag and lifting it so she could follow him out through a back exit. _

_They arrived at a section of the airport where the private planes and helicopters were kept. She immediately noticed the Stark Industries helicopter already waiting for them. As she got out of the car, Kate noticed familiar red hair. _

_Natasha was waiting for her but that wasn't necessarily a good thing at the moment. _

_Kate paused as she stood in front of Natasha, but the Black Widow didn't give her a moment as she hurried her into the helicopter. Kate was surprised, though she didn't know why, to see Tony Stark in the helicopter already. _

_Natasha climbed in after her and shut the door. ~ _

"So, how did you meet Peter?"

Kaye looked up from her book in surprise at Tony's sudden question. They had been at the compound for two weeks, Peter had been back in the States for one, but Kate had yet to see him. "We ran into each other in Berlin. It was complete coincidence." She replied.

Tony smirked. "You left quite the impression on him." He said. "Most of his questions when I saw him were about how you were doing. He seems quite smitten."

Kate smiled faintly, feeling a faint blush creep into her cheeks. She rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"Boss, Secretary Ross has arrived." FRIDAY announced.

The occupants of the common area all tensed and rose. They had been over the plan a million times, but Kate couldn't help the nerves that were eating at her insides. If they were wrong, if they miscalculated, she was about to join her brother in a cell.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked up at Tony who offered her a smile before he moved forward, and Vision stepped up to her side with Bucky and Steve nearby.

Ross walked in with several secret service agents, his face set in a hard line but there was a look of glee in his eyes that made her skin crawl. The man thought he had won but he was about to find out how wrong he was.

"So, it is true." Ross said looking at Kate.

Vision stepped more in front of Kate obscuring the new arrivals' view of the teen. The fingers of her left hand twitched, feeling unsettled without any of her weapons nearby.

"So good you could make it today Mr. Secretary." Tony said lightly like he had been invited. "It saves us from having to come find you. There is a matter we need to discuss."

"There isn't anything more to discuss Stark." Ross said. "You hindered an active operation, caused millions of dollars in damages and you are harboring three fugitives. You'll be in the Raft with all the rest of them where you belong."

Kate's lip curled a bit at the threat, but she kept silent.

Tony, for his part, smiled in amusement. "Yeah, I don't think that's going to work for me." He said lightly. "See if I've at the Raft, then there will need to be press conferences, apologies, and all that, especially after I'm released."

"What makes you think that you would be getting released?" Ross asked.

"Because we have something that you might want." Kate said softly but confidently, meeting Ross' gaze without flinching.

"You see, something really wasn't sitting right with the circumstances around the manhunt around Barnes." Tony said casually. "It was too convenient. We were all blinded to what was happening for one reason or another, until the Sokovian sought out the other Winter Soldiers."

Ross' face was impassive, which was impressive, but Kate could see a nervous tick in his jaw, subtle as it was.

"You see, the little Miss over here, the one you called a fugitive?" Tony said indicating Kate. "She has quite a talent for finding things, even I was impressed with how much it took for her to find it. Seems Pierce wasn't alone with his plans in Washington."

"What are you talking about Stark?" Ross asked.

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." Steve spoke suddenly. "I was told that in 1945, it would seem that a lot of heads have come up during the time I was in the ice. They just got better at hiding."

"Miss. Barton." Tony said looking back. "Would you like the honors?"

"I would." Kate replied with a smile. Bringing up the data they had recovered so it was on full display, she turned to look at Ross. "That's you right Mr. Secretary?"

Ross had paled as he looked at the H.Y.D.R.A. files that were thrown in his face.

As the secret service agents reached for their weapons, Tony raised a hand. "We dumped all these files onto the internet about 30 minutes before you got here." He said. "Every known H.Y.D.R.A. agent is being arrested and taken into custody."

With that, Rhodey came out of a back room with two dozen soldiers to arrest Ross and the agents with him.

…

_~ Kate sat on the floor of the secluded farmhouse, arms wrapped around Lucky, her dog. Well, technically he was Clint's dog, but she always argued the dog liked her more. _

_"There's so many ways this can go wrong." She said looking at her brother._

_Clint shrugged, sitting on the edge of the sofa looking at her. "Cap needs my help, so does Wanda." He replied._

_Kate's eyes softened at the name of the girl who lost her brother so Kate's brother could live. "Then I'm coming with you." She said. Before he could protest, she spoke. "You need all the help you can get and we both know if there is dirt to find with these Winter Soldiers, I can find it." She paused. "Don't leave me alone again."_

_Clint sighed and looked away for a moment, lost in thought. He turned back after a moment; his grey eyes hard. "Alright. Get ready, we leave in thirty minutes.." ~_

Kate was sitting on the floor in the common area playing tug of war with Lucky, using a knotted-up rope while Steve, Bucky, Rhodey, Tony, and Vision spread out doing whatever thing was occupying them at the moment. After Ross' arrest Tony had helped arrange for her to get Lucky from the neighbor that she had left him with in Iowa, though he wasn't particularly happy about having a dog in the compound. The brief trip had allowed her to get some more clothes though Pepper had offered to take her shopping for new clothes.

"Wow, Tony, you let Lucky in here?" A familiar voice said behind her. "Don't tell me you've gone soft."

Turning around, Kate's eyes widened as she saw Clint walking in with Sam, Scott, and Wanda. Clint offered her a half smile. Scrambling to her feet faster than anyone was prepared for, she raced over to her brother.

Clint barely had a moment to brace before Kate collided with him, arms wrapped around him tightly. His arms tightened around her as he felt more than heard her sobs, tears soaking the collar of his shirt. "Hey kid, it's okay." He said quietly.

"You're back." She whimpered quietly. Though she didn't say it, her meaning was clear to both of them. _You left me alone. _

Clint hugged her close. "I'm sorry."


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay...new chapter. We'll see how this goes.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate was going insane. With all the craziness that had happened with the exposure of H.Y.D.R.A. it was still too dangerous for her to leave the compound, especially since a very large target had been placed on her head as far as remaining H.Y.D.R.A. agents were concerned. The problem was, it was nearing a month since she had arrived at the compound and despite its size, it was feeling smaller every day. She desperately wanted to leave even for an hour.

That was how she found herself walking around the building, under the guise of walking Lucky, watching personnel vehicles, debating how much trouble she would be in if she took one for a little bit. She was really just debating if the temporary freedom would be worth the punishment when she returned.

"I wouldn't advise it."

Kate jumped hearing the soft voice. She turned around, wide-eyed to see Bucky watching her with curious eyes. She hadn't heard him approach so she had no idea how long he had been there. "God, you need a bell around your neck." She muttered.

Bucky smirked. "Come on." He said.

"Okay." She said with a sigh.

They walked back inside in a comfortable silence. Kate liked Bucky, he was a calming presence to be around for the most part and he was always up to chat or something when she was bored. She hadn't been able to convince him to spar with her yet though, he was too wary of the possibility of hurting her to try. He had however, taught her some rather useful spy, sneaking around like a shadow, tricks that had come in handy.

Walking toward the common area, she heard her brother talking with Tony.

"I'm just saying, I could pull some strings." Tony was saying. "It would be easy, and she would be less bored in the city than she is here."

Kate paused as she listened. They were obviously talking about her.

"I don't know Tony." Clint was saying. "She's never even been to a public school before…"

_Public school? _Kate raised an eyebrow and looked at Bucky who shrugged.

"That's kind of the point Clint." Natasha spoke up. "She's never had the chance to have a normal experience. This could be something really good for her."

"And look at these scores." Tony argued as well. "Off the charts and that is without formal schooling of any kind. It would be a waste to not put her in an environment where that can grow. Plus, she would already have a friend there to look out for her."

Deciding to just walk in and see what was happening, Kate saw Clint, Natasha, Pepper and Tony sitting at the table going over some brochures. Her sharp eyes quickly picked out **Midtown Science High School**printed on one of the pamphlets.

The four adults jumped at her sudden appearance.

"What's going on?" Kate asked curiously.

Clint cleared his throat. "Until things with the Accords are straightened out, we were discussing moving things back to the Tower in Manhattan." He said. "Since you won't be officially signed as an Avenger, Tony had a suggestion about what you could do in the meantime."

Kate walked forward and picked up one of the pamphlets. "High school?" She asked raising her eyebrow, pretending like she hadn't been listening in.

Pepper stepped in. "Midtown Science is one of the best high schools in the state." She said. "And you'd get the chance to socialize with people your own age."

Kate scanned the paper in her hand and then looked at her brother. His reservations were obviously the strongest, though he had a better reason than the others thought. H.Y.D.R.A. wasn't their only concern.

Clint sighed. "It's up to you kid." He said. "If you want to try it we can make it happen."

"Peter also goes to Midtown." Tony threw in suddenly.

Clint sent a quick glare at Tony but the billionaire only smirked.

Kate furrowed her brow. "Can I think on this tonight?" She asked.

Clint nodded. "Take all the time you need." He said.

…

Research and finding things was something she was good at. It was invaluable when it came to missions and exposing the corrupt. When it came to attempting to make a decision about the benefits of high school, it was just overwhelming.

Kate stared at the mess of research that was spread about her room as she sat cross legged in the middle of her bed, multiple projected screens surrounding her, and papers spread everywhere.

A knock on her door startled her from her thoughts.

"Come in." She called.

Natasha opened the door. "I figured I'd find you like this." She said with a smile as she took in the scene. Walking over, the red headed assassin sat down next to the little brunette.

"Clint doesn't want me to go." Kate said mater-of-factly.

Nat smiled. "Clint will always be overprotective. That will never change. He's more comfortable when he can see that you are safe." She said. "Given the circumstances it's expected."

"Do you think I should?" Kate asked.

"I worry about you too." Nat said carefully, reaching out habitually to brush some of Kate's unruly curls out of her face. "That's a given. But I think it'll be good for you."

Kate looked at the information in front of her curiously.

…

"So, you can see our facilities and labs are all up to date." Principle Morita was saying as he led the tour through the school. "We have STEM, debate, robotics, clubs and many more."

Kate looked around as she listened with half an ear to him talk. Clint and Natasha were more engaged in talking with the Principle than she was, but she was paying attention. There was so much to do in the school, she definitely wouldn't be bored if she decided to participate.

"Mrs. Bishop, when we spoke on the phone you mentioned a few concerns about security?" Principle Morita said looking at Natasha.

Kate moved away, looking at a bulletin board filled with club sign-up sheets, pretending like she wasn't paying attention to the conversation.

"The concerns were mine." Clint said stepping in, speaking lowly like he was trying to not draw Kate's attention, though she could easily hear him. "I was awarded sole custody of my sister but I'm afraid we've had some trouble with family members in the past trying to barge in at her schools."

Morita nodded with understanding. "We've dealt with custody disputes here before." He admitted. "I can assure you that we have very strict practices when it comes to the safety of our students. I would be happy to go over those with you back in my office."

Clint nodded his thanks. "Kate." He called unnecessarily to draw her back to the group.

As Kate followed them back to the office, they were passing the auditorium as the doors opened and a kid came out faster than the others following him. Kate wasn't quick enough to stop, and they collided, before familiar hands gripped her upper arms to steady her and she looked up, blue eyes meeting brown.

"Sorry, sorry…" Peter trailed off in shock as he recognized her.

Kate smiled. "It's okay." She said.

"Ah, Mr. Parker." Morita said as the adults walked back. "Peter is one of our best students. This is Kate Bishop; she is considering transferring here."

"Oh, that's awesome." Peter said trying to play it off like he hadn't seen her firing specialized arrows at half of the Avengers in Berlin. "Yeah, this is a great school."

Kate smiled, trying not to laugh at his cute antics.

Peter was called away by the group that had been coming out behind him, but he gave her a smile before heading off to follow them.

…

Peter had been trying to get out of Decathlon practice before they asked him to do anything else so he could start his patrols, but he definitely wasn't expecting someone to be in the halls when he came out the door.

Colliding with someone, he reached out to steady the person, but froze when he saw very familiar eyes. His apology died on his lips as he took in the girl before him.

"It's okay." Kate gave him a radiant smile that made his stomach twist into a nervous knot.

He vaguely heard Principle Morita talking and kind of stumbled over his response, but he was too surprised care.

"Peter, come on!" Ned called as the team came out into the halls.

"See you around." Peter said with a smile before he walked away.

Kate smiled back and offered a small wave goodbye.

* * *

**Quickly, no I won't turn this into some high school drama. There is gonna be Avengers and bad guy fighting too but since Kate and Peter are the same age I figured it'd be fun to have them in school together. Also I wanna incorporate Ned cause he is just adorable lol **


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, this is starting to pick up steam for me a little bit on writing. No promises on how long it lasts.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Clint was a master assassin, expert marksman, one of the best agents S.H.I.E.L.D. had, and a damn good Avenger. But to his sister, he was nothing if not predictable.

When Kate went looking for him, she knew where she would find him, and it wasn't at the shooting range with his bow. If you knew where to look at the complex, once you climbed out the right window, there was a narrow path that you could climb up to one of the highest points of the building where you had an excellent 360 degree view of the surrounding area. It would be a perfect sniper nest, or just a great place to think.

Clint was staring out over the still darkened area, waiting for sunrise to begin, the faintest glow of light just beginning. He looked up as Kate appeared, dropping down beside him without a word.

"Did you sleep?" Clint asked.

"Not much." She replied pulling the sleeves of her hoodie down over her hands. "You?"

He shrugged.

They sat in silence for a long time just watching the glow on the horizon get brighter and brighter but not quite break yet.

"I really like the school." Kate said into the silence.

"I know you do." Clint said. "That's why I finished the rest of the paperwork while you and Nat went to the car."

She looked at him in surprise. "Really?" She asked.

He nodded. "You're gonna start Monday. Pepper already has your books being shipped to the tower and Nat is going to take you into the city in a few hours to get all the supplies you need and new clothes." He said.

Kate wrapped her arms around Clint tightly. "Thank you." She said.

"I want you to promise me something though." Clint said seriously as she sat back. "You know the rules. Keep your head down, always be alert and keep your guard up. Don't get lazy just because the school is full of kids."

She nodded somberly. "I promise."

…

New York was crazy; it was loud, it was crowded, and drivers did not really care if you were already in the crosswalk or not. Kate loved it.

She and Nat had left the compound at around 8am and they had been shopping for hours. Both had arms full of bags from various clothing stores. Originally, Kate had just wanted to get supplies for school, but Natasha had insisted on a new wardrobe considering her clothes were functional, either for globe trotting missions or farm life in Iowa. They still needed the actual school supplies.

"I'm hungry." Kate finally said around 2pm.

"Okay, let's drop these at the car." Natasha said.

They shoved everything in the back of the SUV and were about to get in when Kate heard someone say her name. Granted it was New York City and there could have been twenty Kate's walking by at that moment, but she still looked.

Peter, along with a boy that she had seen yesterday at school, was walking up smiling brightly.

…

Peter and Ned hadn't gotten a lot of chances to hang out lately what with Peter's patrolling schedule, so days like today were rare. They had spent most of the day together hanging out and they had gotten a new LEGO set to put together and were on their way to get lunch when he saw her.

She was dressed simply in a black tank top with blue jean shorts and red converse sneakers, her curly brown hair pulled up in a messy ponytail but he instantly recognized Kate.

Without letting his brain catch up to what his mouth was doing, he called her name. When she looked around, seeming surprised to hear her name, she spotted him. He smiled to cover his sudden confusion about what to do.

She smiled at him, eyes lighting up. "Hey…" She said being careful because Ned was there. "Peter, right? Midtown's best student."

Peter blushed. "Well…" he rubbed the back of his head. "I wouldn't say their best…"

Kate giggled but she looked at Ned.

"This is Ned." Peter introduced. "Ned, this is Kate. She's thinking of coming to Midtown."

"Nice to meet you." Kate said politely.

Ned blushed when her smile was directed at him and greeted her back politely.

Kate glanced back, hearing a phone ring. When Peter followed her gaze, he was shocked to recognize the Black Widow sitting in the driver's seat talking on a cell phone. She was talking in Russian and not looking at them, but he recognized her. Thankfully, Ned hadn't.

"So, what did you think of Midtown?" Ned asked.

Kate looked at him. "It was great. I actually am going to be starting there on Monday." She said.

Peter's pulse leapt at the news.

…

Kate smiled as she spoke with Peter and Ned while waiting for Nat to get off the phone. It was weird, but nice to have a conversation about normal teenage things like starting school for a change. Besides, Peter she knew she liked, and Ned seemed really sweet too.

"Hey kiddo, change of plans." Nat's voice said behind her.

Kate turned to the open passenger window to see Natasha was now off the phone.

Nat frowned apologetically. "I gotta go to work." She said seriously. "We'll have to get the rest of the school supplies later."

"Okay…" Kate replied actually feeling the disappointment more than usual.

"Well, we could help you get the supplies." Kate turned to look at Peter in surprise at his sudden offer.

Peter blushed slightly at their eyes turning to him but continued. "We were gonna grab lunch. You could join us, and we could help you find the rest of what you need." He offered.

"Yeah." Ned added. "The place that we get our stuff from isn't far from here."

"Umm…" Kate turned to look at Natasha, who didn't look convinced. She leaned into the open window and spoke quietly in Russian. "Please Nat? You said to have normal experiences. Isn't having friends and doing stuff like this part of that?"

Natasha didn't reply for a long time but finally sighed and pulled out Kate's cell phone from the center console. "You check in every hour or count on the majority of the Avengers showing up to make sure you're okay. And you are back by 6pm, no later." She instructed in Russian.

Kate grinned. "Thanks Nat!" She said back in English, taking her phone and the credit card Natasha passed over as well. "I'll see you back at the apartment."

"Have fun!" Natasha said but in a much quieter voice said. "She gets hurt little spider and I'm coming after you."

Kate paused. Ned was blissfully unaware of the exchange but seeing Peter swallow nervously confirmed that he had indeed heard her.

…

Peter thanked whoever he could think of that he and the Black Widow had been on the same side in Berlin. She was scary, even when making whispered threats from a car.

However, it didn't take long for that to be pushed from his mind as Peter and Ned led Kate to their favorite pizza place for lunch. It became apparent that Kate was every bit the nerd that they were so the three instantly bonded.

"Is that a LEGO Star Destroyer?" Kate asked looking at the bag that Ned had while they waited on their pizza.

"Yeah." Ned replied but kinda braced for the ridicule that they normally received.

Kate smiled. "When I was little, I kept taking apart the appliances at home when I was bored. When I took apart the coffee pot one morning my brother went and bought me one of the giant sets, like 75,000+ pieces. I still put them together when I have the time and when we aren't moving." She said, a fond look in her eyes.

"So, it's just you and your brother?" Ned asked.

"And his wife." She replied.

"Is your brother in the military?" Ned asked. "Is that why you moved so much?"

Kate smiled faintly. "Something like that…." She replied taking a sip of her soda.

After lunch and stopping to get the last things on her list, Ned had to say goodbye so he could go home. Peter offered to walk her back to her 'apartment', so they saw Ned to his train and started in the general direction of the Tower.

"This was fun." Kate said smiling as they walked together. "Thank you for inviting me."

Peter found himself grinning ear to ear. "Of course." He said. "I'm really glad we ran into each other—not in the literal sense this time though."

Kate giggled and Peter found that he wanted to make her laugh again. Any response he could have come up with was cut off by the sound of shouting coming from a convenience store across the street. Looking over he saw masked robbers with guns pointed at the clerk and customers. He looked at Kate and she was looking at them too.

She turned to see his imploring expression and nodded with a smile. "Go get 'em Spider-Man."


	6. Chapter 6

**New chapter! Hope you guys like it. I won't be updating this or Iron Maiden for at least two weeks while I wrap school and get settled in to my new job so please bare with me. **

**Quick comment, the sitting on the top of the fridge thing that I've seen in multiple stories is definitely something I would do and I like the idiosyncrasy of it for Kate and Clint.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

It was annoying to not be able to help beat up the criminals but if she was honest, it was really fun watching Peter do it. He had a style of fighting that was difficult to define because there was no rhyme or reason to it. He just reacted on instinct, obviously no formal training.

Kate waited patiently across the street while he swung in, disarmed and webbed them up. She had to laugh at his little quips while he mused over why they would try to rob the store. One of the robbers managed to run out, and seeing Kate watching across the street probably thought maybe a quick hostage would solve his problems.

With a sigh, Kate didn't put up a fight as he pointed the gun at her head and wrapped an arm around her neck. Peter followed and his eyes widened as he saw the gun at her head.

"Back off!" The gun ordered. "Or I blow her brains out."

_Then you would have no hostage. _"You're making a mistake." Kate said instead of voicing her thoughts.

"Shut up!" The guy yelled, clearly panicked.

"Just take it easy." Peter said, hands up in an appeasing gesture.

The guy backed up into the alley behind them which worked to Kate's advantage. Once they were past the opening of the alley she stomped on his foot, bringing her hand up grip his wrist, twisting harshly so he dropped the gun and spun away, keeping a hold of his arm and kicking him in the side of the knee causing it to buckle. She was nice and didn't break anything.

Peter webbed the guy up and took him back to the others to await the police before he joined her deeper in the alley where she waited for him. "That was amazing." He said pulling his mask off. He gave her a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

She laughed lightly. "It's nothing." She said. "I've dealt with worse."

Peter looked like he wanted to ask her more about it, but Kate happened to glance at her watch which read 5:45pm, she would just barely have time to make it back if she ran. "Crap." She muttered. "I need to get back to the Tower or I'm dead."

Peter quickly got back into his street clothes and they gathered their stuff.

…

Kate just barely made it back to the Tower by six. She was walking off the elevator at exactly 6:01pm to see Natasha and Clint having a serious discussion.

"I'm here!" Kate announced quickly to get their attention.

"You're late." Clint replied without looking at the clock.

Kate frowned. "No, I'm not. I was in the Tower on time." She said. "Right FRIDAY?"

"Miss. Barton entered the Tower at 5:58pm." The AI replied.

Clint rolled his eyes but didn't appear upset about it.

"What's going on?" Kate asked now sensing the tension.

Clint rubbed his eyes. "There is a H.Y.D.R.A. cell in South America that is proving to be a bit more of a challenge than anyone expected." He said.

"You have to go to work?" Kate asked.

Clint nodded.

"When do you leave?" Kate asked setting her bags down on the sofa.

"In an hour." Natasha replied.

Kate nodded. "How long?"

"TBD." Natasha replied.

She was used to this, and it was childish, but Kate couldn't help but feel a little crushed that they wouldn't be there for her first day at Midtown. Pushing it aside, she made sure her expression reflected none of that so they wouldn't worry while they went on a mission. "Be careful." She said hugging them both.

…

Kate always slept poorly whenever Clint and Natasha were gone. She found herself up in the main kitchen at 3am eating leftover pizza and drinking a soda. She was dressed in pajama pants and wearing one of Clint's hoodies while sitting cross legged on top of the fridge when Tony walked in.

"Glad to see some habits are family traits." Tony commented with a smirk seeing the familiar position as he moved around the kitchen, gathering items to make coffee.

Kate smiled, thinking about Clint's habit for finding high places.

"Can't sleep?" Tony asked as he leaned against the counter, waiting for coffee to finish brewing.

She shrugged. "Have you even been asleep?" She asked, eyeing yesterday's clothing on Tony along with fresh grease stains and a few singe marks. She immediately noticed the case he had brought up as well. "What's that?"

Tony shrugged but smiled as they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

Clint told her after he got out of the Raft that he was shocked that she and Tony got along as well as they did. He swore that one of them would have pissed the other off within a week, but Kate adored Tony.

Tony poured himself a cup of coffee. "Come on." He said motioning with his head as he took his coffee and grabbed the black case off the counter.

He didn't wait to see if she would follow so Kate had to quickly jump down, dumping her plate in the sink and racing to catch up with Tony as he went into the large living room area. He was setting the case down on the coffee table, so she joined him on the sofa and watched as he opened the case.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the sleek new bow with purple patterns mixed in with the black, a couple custom arrows in the case as well. "You finished them?" She asked excitedly, setting her soda bottle aside and eagerly reaching for the bow.

Tony pulled them out of her grasp. "What kind of responsible adult would I be if I let you play with these indoors?" He asked, aghast.

Kate just stared at him.

He grinned. "I just need to explain what these do first." He said setting the case back as she grinned scooting closer as he spoke.

Kate didn't need to think about what he was doing. Tony knew before she did that Clint and Natasha were going on a mission and he had been in the lab since. She also knew the bow and arrows were three days away from being done, or one good binge away.

Tony would never admit it, but he finished the weapons to make her feel better.

…

After Peter saw Kate back to the tower he had gone back to his apartment. However, it was a Saturday night, so he wasn't tired, and he had already gotten all of his homework done.

He decided to go out on patrol.

It was a surprisingly quiet night, only one robbery at gun point, a few car and bike thefts, and a tourist couple that were very lost. It gave Peter a lot of time to just think.

As he was perched on top of the Daily Bugle, changing out his web cartridges, he thought about the day. He had been so excited to see Kate and to introduce her to Ned. And Ned loved her, Peter's phone had been flooded with texts when he got home about Kate and how cool she was. When he made it back to the apartment, during dinner, May had commented that she hadn't seen him smile this much in a long time.

The day really had been great, but May's comment specifically had gotten him thinking.

For the longest time, he had been pining over Liz, but when he actually sat down and thought about it, he hadn't thought about Liz or even given her a second look at school since Berlin.

If he was honest, he had been dreaming about blue eyes.

However, something that she had said earlier had been eating at him.

_It's nothing. I've dealt with worse. _

Yeah, he knew that her brother was Hawkeye, who had been a master assassin at one point, but he found himself wondering about what kind of "worse" she had dealt with.

He was saved from thinking on it by a bright flash of light hitting right into Avengers Tower. Blinking the spots from his eyes, he went towards the tower.

…

Tony and Kate had spread out in the living room, idly watching a movie as they dozed on and off.

Kate sat up quickly in her chair, the faintest whispers of a nightmare trying to pull at her subconscious. Tony looked over at her from the sofa, question and concern in his gaze.

She was saved from answering by a bright flash of light hitting the balcony outside. Shielding her eyes for a second as she tensed, when she could see again, she focused on the new arrivals.

Thor was standing on the balcony with Dr. Banner, a woman dressed in white armor, a large alien that looked to be made of rock, he was carrying a grubby looking alien, but the final arrival is the one that caught her attention.

Kate's eyes widened as she looked at Loki standing at Thor's shoulder. Tony, who had moved more in front of her, tensed upon seeing the God of Mischief.

Without waiting to talk, Kate grabbed the bow and one of the arrows sitting on the table, notching it.

Thor held up a hand. "Wait!"

It was too late as Kate released the arrow heading right for Loki's head.


	7. Chapter 7

**New chapter! Moving along...I thought bringing in the Asgardians would be fun. We'll see how this plays out. Kate is angry, for obvious reasons Loki messed up her brother pretty bad in Avengers. Will she forgive Loki? Will Clint? We'll see where the winds take me lol. Hopefully updates will come more frequently, I found out I am going to have a small break between when I finish my semester and when I start my new job so I'll try to write ahead so I can update.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

_~ It was one of those perfect summer nights on the farm, where it was warm but there was a gentle breeze coming in through the open windows. You could hear the cicadas outside and the noise from the farm animals on the neighboring properties gently floating through the air. It was peaceful._

_Suddenly, Lucky stood up from his position at the foot of the sofa and started growling at the door, his hackles raising, muzzle pulling back from his sharp teeth._

_Kate looked up from her book and sat up, grabbing the hidden handgun under the side table. Perfect, of course this was going to happen when Clint was guarding some space cube at a remote NASA facility and Natasha was in Russia. _

_"Kate."_

_Her shoulders dropped as she heard the familiar voice. "Lucky, down." She said and got up to head to the door. Throwing it open wide, she looked at Phil Coulson standing outside on the lawn. _

_"Sorry, I heard Lucky growling and didn't want to startle him." Phil said walking up the steps._

_"Phil, what are you doing here?" Kate asked. Not that she wasn't happy to see him, she always liked Phil, but him being here when Clint wasn't was not a good sign._

_His expression was grim. "I need you to come with me." He said. He paused. "Clint has been compromised." ~_

The arrow flew right at Loki's head, but Thor caught it though the following detonation knocked them all back a little bit. Tony, who had summoned his arm to him, helmet still down though, grabbed her arm before she would loose another arrow.

"Stop, you're just putting holes in my building." He said though he looked about ready to blast the Demi-God as well.

The explosion had alerted the others. Vision was the first to arrive, coming through the floor. Steve, Bucky, Sam, Wanda, and Rhodey all came within seconds of each other. They took in the scene around them and focused on Loki and Thor.

"What the hell is this?" Rhodey demanded.

"My friends, please, my brother is not here to cause harm." Thor said. "We have much to discuss."

Tony frowned. "Start talking before she decides to fire again." He commented letting go of Kate's arm.

Thor looked at Kate curiously but turned back to the others. "My friends, Asgard is no more." He said. He began to tell them about his crazy sister and about Ragnarok and about how they ended with a ship full of Asgardian refugees.

Kate was sitting on the back of the couch between Bucky and Sam as they listened. She felt bad for them but having Loki here was making her skin crawl; she didn't trust him to not cause harm.

To his credit, Loki had done his best to not say anything while they talked except when he was asked a question. However, he kept glancing at Kate like he was trying to figure out who she was. The minute he figured it out, she saw it. His pale blue eyes lit with recognition and his face showed subtle surprise.

"So, we're just supposed to take your word that he won't be a problem?" Kate asked once Thor finished speaking twirling an arrow between her fingers.

Thor turned his gaze to her, or at least half of it, given the new eye patch. "Who are you?" He asked.

"She's Agent Barton's sister." Loki said.

The rest of the Avengers went rigid as he spoke, but Thor looked at her with surprise.

"Yeah apparently Barton had a secret sister." Tony said, still eyeing Loki warily but wanting to move things along. He looked at Thor. "So, what is your plan here? Just relocate everyone to Earth?"

Thor really didn't have a solid plan.

Steve looked thoughtful.

Kate narrowed her eyes. "You aren't seriously considering letting _him_stay here?" She demanded staring at the super soldier.

Steve frowned. "Kate— "

"Seriously!" Kate demanded.

Bucky stood up then and took her arm, pulling her to her feet. "Come on." He said. "Let's go."

Kate followed him as he led her out to the balcony, out of ear shot. She spoke in Russian. "After everything he's done it just doesn't matter?" She said angrily. "We forget about the monster that he was?"

"And no one can change?" Bucky said back in Russian.

Kate presses her lips into a thin line. "That's different." She replied. "He tried to enslave the human race."

He didn't argue with her but gave her a knowing look. "It's different because of what he did to your brother." Bucky replied.

She couldn't really dispute that.

"Steve hasn't forgotten what Loki did." Bucky said. "You know this isn't just gonna get left alone. But you need to let this play out." Kate frowned looking thoughtful. "Okay?"

After a second, she looked up. "Okay." Kate replied, switching back to English.

They were about to head back inside when they both stopped. It was more an instinct that made them stop than any real noise. Kate looked up to see Peter on the side of the building.

"Hey." Peter said sheepishly.

"How long have you been there?" She asked.

Bucky eyed the new arrival with suspicion as Peter dropped down.

"About a minute." Peter admitted. "I got here just before you guys came out here. What was that flash of light?" He glanced inside. "Is that Thor and Dr. Banner? Isn't that the guy who tried to take over New York?"

"It's a long story." Kate said with a sigh. "Come on."

…

Peter followed Kate and Bucky back to the living room. He noted the scorch marks on the floor and ceiling as he walked in. The others looked up, in surprise at Peter but also with cautious expressions at Kate.

"I won't try to kill him again." Kate said holding up her hands. "I promise."

Peter looked at her curiously. _She tried to kill him? _

Tony looked at him. "Kid, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I saw the big light come out of the sky and thought you guys might need some help." Peter said sheepishly. "The whole thing was kinda hard to miss."

Kate looked over at Tony. "That probably means press…" She said.

"Great." Tony muttered. "That's all we need."

Peter was listening to them, but he was also staring at the two very alien looking beings in the room as well. With all the things he had seen in the last year, this may be the coolest.

"We can't risk people asking more questions with you guys going back to the ship." Steve said.

Peter looked up. _There's a ship? _

"You'll have to stay here until we can make an announcement." Steve continued. "Thor, Loki isn't to be left alone."

Thor nodded.

"Clint is not going to like this." Sam muttered.

Loki looked at Kate. "And how is Agent Barton doing these days?" He asked with a taunting smile.

The look Kate gave Loki was so chilling it made Peter's spidey senses go off like crazy. He watched her snatch the knife that was at Bucky's side up quickly and pull it back as if to throw it but Bucky was expecting it and caught her hand with his and his other arm wrapping around her waist lifting her up to bodily turn her away and he pushed her towards the elevator, removing the knife from her hand.

Kate swore something in Russian, Bucky raising his voice in what sounded like a command and pushed her towards the elevator again. This time she complied and moved away.

With Wanda, Vision, and Bruce accompanying, Thor and the new arrivals were moved to a different floor.

"You picked a helluva night to show up kid." Tony commented once things had settled down.

Peter looked at him. "Is Kate okay?" He asked.

Tony sighed. "She will be I think." He said. "Look, Pete you should probably head home. You don't want to be out when May wakes up."

"Yeah you're right." Peter said. He glanced towards the elevator.

"Don't do it." Tony said suddenly.

Peter looked up in surprise. "Do what?" He asked.

"Don't think about going all Disney and showing up on her balcony." Tony said blandly. "There is way too much going on right now and I don't want to explain that to Clint. Go home and get some sleep. You can text her tomorrow." Tony pointed at him. "And don't think I won't have FRIDAY watching."

Peter blushed, though Tony couldn't see it behind the mask, embarrassed that he had been so transparent. Though the Aladdin reference hadn't been on his mind right away it was now. _I wonder if she would want to see the city…_

"I can see the gears turning in your head." Tony interrupted his thoughts. "Go home kid before I call May."

Peter looked at him. "That's low Mr. Stark…"

Tony had the faintest hint of a smile. "Go." He ordered again.

Peter did as he was told, but he definitely didn't sleep that night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry guys, I got stuck on this one for a minute. Anyways, late upload.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate never did get to sleep. After Bucky had prevented her from putting a knife through Loki's eye, he had been put on her floor under orders to watch her. Steve didn't trust her not to attempt it again, which she probably would have if Bucky hadn't been there.

Once she was no longer seeing red, she actually found herself surprised that Bucky had not only raised his voice at her, commanding her to stand down, but had physically moved her away from the scene. The only ones who had ever really been willing to do that had been Clint and Natasha, everyone else treated her with kid gloves. Well, Tony didn't but that was more a verbal match than a physical one, he wasn't afraid to be bossy with anyone.

While Kate lay in bed contemplating this, her phone buzzed. Looking at the clock, she saw it was 8:35am. Picking up the phone, she read the text.

_Hey, you doing okay? – P_

Kate smiled at the concerned message, but it quickly faded as she realized what Peter probably thought of her now after seeing how she had reacted.

_Yeah. It's all good. Sorry about last night. – K _

_Don't worry about it. Just wanted to make sure you were okay. Mr. Stark said to leave you alone until this morning. So, I'm texting now. Oh…was this too early? I know you probably had a long night… – P_

Kate laughed quietly as the texts came in one right after another. His quirkiness never failed to make her smile.

_It's all good. I was awake anyways. – K _

_If you want to talk, I'm here. – P_

Kate paused as she read this. Peter had seen her, rather violently, attempt to kill someone. A megalomaniacal Demi-God who attempted to enslave the human race sure, but attempted murder all the same. He wasn't scared by that?

_Thank you. – K_

She really didn't know what else to text back. Pushing her blankets aside, she dressed for the day in dark jeans, boots, and she layered a black tank top over a green on. She pulled her hair into a ponytail before walking out into the living area of the space Tony had set up for her, Clint, and Natasha.

Bucky was still there; he was sitting on the sofa with Lucky rubbed up against his leg getting his ears scratched. Hearing the door open, Bucky looked up at her.

Kate felt a bit of a shame thinking about how she had yelled at Bucky last night. "Sorry." She said.

Bucky just shrugged, not upset. "You hungry?" He asked as he stood up.

"Sure." She replied. Lucky pawed at Kate's leg. "Come on buddy. Let's go outside first."

After making sure Lucky was taken care of for the morning, Kate and Bucky went up to the main area to get breakfast. She walked out of the elevator and came face to face (kind of) with the large rock alien and his grub like friend.

"Oh hey, you're the girl with the arrows." The rock said in a higher than expected voice, sounding a little Polynesian. "I'm Korg, this is Miek." The grub waved at her.

"Hi." Kate said a little startled. "I'm Kate…"

It took all of 30 seconds for Kate to be absolutely enthralled by the pair. They were hilarious and sweet, and alien of course. While they were getting set up for breakfast, Kate pulled out her phone and recorded the attempt to explain coffee and why it was so essential to the adults in the room. She texted the short clip to Peter who geeked out over it.

When Thor and Loki joined them along with the woman, Valkyrie, the tension in the room rose, but there were no outbursts. A lot of people glanced at Kate, including Loki, but she just kept her gaze on her phone while she ate her cereal.

Despite her volatile reaction last night, she would go along with the plan and observe, she didn't have to talk to him though.

Tony cleared his throat. "Kate, you excited for school tomorrow?" He asked.

That actually caused her to look up from her phone. She had completely forgotten about it.

Before she could answer, FRIDAY was alerting them to a call from Nick Fury. They were trying to get the ball rolling with finding a suitable location for the Asgardians. Thor already had an idea, a location in Norway that would be perfectly suited as a new home.

Once she finished eating, Tony asked her to come to the lab. Walking in, she paused seeing Bruce was there as well. She skirted the workshop keeping plenty of space between her and Bruce as she moved over to Tony who was watching her curiously. He definitely took note of the space she put between them.

Around noon, Pepper called Kate away from the lab so she could get some lunch since they had been working for a while without a break.

"How are you holding up?" Pepper asked gently.

"Fine." Kate replied carefully as she spread peanut butter on one side of her sandwich.

Pepper was making a sandwich for Tony and for Bruce so Kate could bring it back with her. She figured Kate could coax the science bros, or at least Tony to eat. "I'm sure this isn't easy for you." Pepper tried gently. "I know how upset Nat was, I can only imagine how you were feeling."

Kate shrugged, moving on to getting strawberry jam out of the jar. "I think it was easier for me because I could at least keep an eye on him." She froze realizing her slip.

Pepper caught it. "What do you mean you could keep an eye on him?" She asked.

Kate looked up and smiled. "I just meant I could track them, you know, online and whatnot." She said even as the image of Clint aiming an arrow at her head played in her mind. "Thanks for lunch Pep."

Quickly loading the plates on a tray, Kate went to the elevator to avoid any other questions. Walking out into the lab, she plopped the tray down in front of Tony who jumped, having been very absorbed in his work.

"Lunch time." She announced with a smile. Clint and Natasha had both told her how the two could get absorbed so she didn't give them a choice but to eat.

Kate finished her sandwich quickly and brushed her hands on her jeans. "I've gotta take Lucky for a walk and I need to get a backpack." She said loading up the plates to put on the tray. "I forgot one yesterday. I'll be back in a few hours."

Tony paused. "I'm pretty sure your brother won't be happy if we let you go out on your own." He said eyeing her critically, looking for…something.

"I'm a big girl." Kate said. "I'll be fine. Besides, you're a little too high profile for me to take out with me and you don't like dogs."

"At least take Sam or Steve with you." Tony said. "Hell, even Barnes."

Kate sighed. "Okay. I'll ask." She replied.

Tony narrowed his eyes at her.

"Okay!" Kate laughed. "I really will ask, I promise."

Satisfied, Tony nodded and went back to his work as she took the empty plates back upstairs.

True to her word, she did ask. However, she asked in such a way that each thought a different one was going with her, so she was able to slip out of the building with Lucky and without being noticed.

As she walked, Lucky's leash looped around her wrist, she pulled out her phone.

_Hey, you on patrol? – K_

She waited only a few seconds before she got a reply.

_Not yet. Having lunch with my Aunt. – P_

_I'm gonna be in Central Park for a couple hours if you wanna swing in :P – K_

_Lol! I see what you did there :) – P_

Kate smiled as she put her phone back in her pocket as Lucky trotted along happily beside her. Getting to Central Park, she pulled out a tennis ball from her jacket pocket to which Lucky eagerly began jumping up and down for.

After about half an hour of tossing the ball for Lucky to chase, she received a text from Tony, subsequently followed by about fifteen other texts from Sam, Steve, and Bucky, all of them in varying stages of panic.

With a sigh, she texted back. _Be back soon. _

Shoving her phone back into her pocket, she felt another text come in but ignored it. She went back to tossing the ball for Lucky.

Finally, after another half hour, Kate called Lucky back and they walked to a vendor to get two bottles of water before sitting in the shade of a large tree, Kate pouring water from one bottle so Lucky could have a drink.

Fishing her phone out of her pocket, Kate pulled up her missed texts and froze.

She had missed one from Clint.

It read very simply: **_Where are you?_**

It was sent 25 minutes ago.

"You know…" Kate jumped and spun around to see Clint leaning against the tree, arms crossed. "When I got back to the Tower, hearing "Loki is here" and "we can't find your sister" in the same sentence is not the sentence I was expecting to hear."

Kate swallowed nervously. "Uh-oh."

Clint smiled mirthlessly and agreed. "Uh-oh."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, new chapter. This one had more of a somber tone than I've had so far in this story but I promise I'll move to lighter things in the next chapter and going forward for a bit. I just needed to set up some things as far as Kate went.**

**P.S. KitKat is what we call a friend of mine who's name is Kate or Katherine, so shout out!**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

The elevator opened on their floor as Kate and Clint walked into the main living area where Natasha was waiting.

"You have to say something to me at some point." Kate pleaded after enduring the whole walk home in silence. She hurried to get in front of Clint forcing him to stop. "C'mon, I feel like I'm walking to the gallows. Say something, please!"

Clint regarded her calmly. "What do you want me to say?" He asked. His expression changed as he walked forward causing Kate to back up. "How about you tell me what was going through your head when you decided to leave the Tower? Was it to meet that Spider-Kid?"

"No, it wasn't." Kate said bristling. "I was thinking I wanted to have 5 minutes to myself. Ever since Thor and the others arrived, I've had Bucky, or Tony, or Pepper, or someone watching over me. At least before the whole H.Y.D.R.A. thing you trusted me to be on my own."

Clint sighed. "I know you aren't used to being around everyone. But with Loki being here—"

"Spare me." Kate said. "You don't have to tell me how dangerous he is."

Kate turned away to go sit on the sofa.

"Okay, I don't have to tell you." Clint said walking after her. "It might be a good idea for you to explain what you told Pepper earlier today." Kate closed her eyes for a minute. "What did you mean when you said you had been able to keep an eye on me?"

"I misspoke." Kate replied not looking at him.

Clint moved in front of her, sitting on the coffee table to meet her gaze. "No, you don't misspeak." He said. "You always know the words you choose. Kate…"

"Just drop it." Kate replied rubbing her eyes with one hand.

Clint frowned and he waited for her to meet his gaze. He saw the unshed tears in her over bright blue eyes. "Kate, when I asked you if something happened before New York—"

Kate smiled sadly as one tear rolled down her cheek. "I lied."

_~ Coulson's expression was grim. "I need you to come with me." He said. He paused. "Clint has been compromised."_

_Kate froze, the words echoing through her skull as she tried to wrap her brain around it. "No, he was just watching a space cube, no hostiles. What happened?" She asked._

_"We had an unexpected complication." Coulson said. "Someone came through the gate."_

_Kate paused. "Phil, are you okay?" She asked._

_Coulson nodded. "Why do you ask?"_

_Something felt wrong and Kate took one step back away from him. Lucky growling, the pattern of his speech, this wasn't Phil. As she took one more step back into the doorway of the house, she heard a soft pop, like a dart gun, followed by a thud. _

_Spinning around she saw Clint standing in the living room, a tranquilizer gun aimed at Lucky, who was on the ground. When he looked up, she froze at the cold blue of his eyes, they almost looked inhuman. _

_Turning back to "Coulson" she backed up as she watched his image change in a green light to reveal a tall man with raven hair dressed in green leathers and armor that were not from Earth. She stopped moving back when Clint gripped her shoulder with one hand, holding her in place._

_"Hello Miss. Barton." The man smiled coldly. "I am impressed that you saw through the disguise so quickly." He stopped right in front of her. "Your brother tells me that you know how to find things." ~_

As she finished speaking, Kate regretted even opening her mouth. "That expression right there is why I didn't want to say anything." She said looking at her brother. "I knew you would blame yourself."

Clint closed his eyes for a second before looking back up at her. His voice strained, asked. "The memory I had of aiming the arrow at you…"

Kate didn't reply.

Clint stood up, eyes blazing.

Kate shot up and ran in front of Clint, putting her hands on his shoulders to stop him. "Clint no! You can't kill him, Cap's orders." She said.

"I don't give a shit." Clint said in an eerie calm voice that she hadn't heard in years. "I'm going to do what I should have done instead of letting Thor take him back to Asgard."

"He's Thor's brother, and…" Clint paused and looked at her to finish. "I know what I would do if they ever came after you."

It was subtle, but she felt Clint's shoulders loosen under her hands. Kate let her hands drop and she saw Natasha relax over Clint's shoulder. Without a word, Clint pulled her into a tight embrace, not saying a word.

"I'm sorry KitKat." He said quietly after a minute.

"It's not your fault." Kate said softly, hugging him back tightly.

Clint loosened his hold but didn't release her. "It's Loki's." He said.

Kate took a deep breath, knowing her next words weren't going to go over well. "Actually, I'm not so sure it's his either." She said.

Clint took her shoulders and held her back at arm's length looking at her like she was insane. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I've had a lot of time and reason to think over that encounter over the last 14 hours." Kate said carefully. "It struck me while Thor was telling us what happened last night, but I couldn't put my finger on it." She chewed her lower lip as Clint and Natasha looked at her. "You might want to get the others for this."

…

Kate looked at her phone while they waited for FRIDAY to get the Avengers together. She had a missed text message.

_Sorry I missed you at the park – P_

_I forgot to text you. My brother got back early and busted me. Wasn't technically supposed to be out of the tower. See you at school tomorrow? – K_

_See you there :) – P_

Kate put her phone away as the elevator dinged and the others walked in. Natasha sat down next to her on the sofa as everyone filed into the sitting area.

"What's this about?" Steve asked curiously. "FRIDAY said you had new information?"

Clint perched on the arm rest next to Natasha and they all turned their eyes to Kate.

"I know I've been pretty crazy since Loki came here." Kate said carefully. "So, I'll spare you the details, but I came into contact with Loki when he came to Earth the first time. The reason I'm telling you this is because I think the Mind Stone was used on Loki before he came to Earth."

Everyone paused in surprise.

"What makes you say so?" Thor asked.

"FRIDAY, do you have that footage I asked for?" Kate asked.

On que, a hologram appeared in front of them. It showed Clint and Dr. Selvig from S.H.I.E.L.D. footage before and after the Mind Stone was used.

"Look at the difference in their eyes." Kate asked. "Now look at Loki when he arrived vs. how he looked at the end after the Chitauri were gone."

"Incredible." Bruce said quietly. "You remembered that from one encounter four years ago?"

Kate shrugged but the others noted the slight tension in Clint and Natasha as Bruce mentioned it.

"If he was under mind control…" Steve said thoughtfully leaving it open.

"We would have to find out for sure." Natasha said. "Thor, would he tell you?"

Thor sighed. "Loki and I are on better terms but it's difficult to say." He said.

Kate chewed on her lower lip. "I could get him to tell me." She said. Everyone looked at her quickly. "It would have to be alone though."

"Absolutely not." Clint said instantly.

"We'll find another way." Steve added as well.

Kate shook her head. "Fine." She said heading towards the kitchen for a drink. "You let me know when you come up with something that works."

Once she was in the smaller kitchen, she paused to listen.

"That attitude never gets old." Tony commented amused.

Kate smiled. Tony was probably the only one who thought so.

"Clint, can I ask you something?" Bruce asked. "Her memory…the way she recalls such specific details from so long ago quickly…has she ever been tested for something like hyperthymesia?"

"Perfect recall?" Tony asked in surprise.

"No." Clint said. "Fury wanted to have her tested but…"

Kate paused as she listened to them, not having known that.

Bucky spoke grimly. "It would put her on the radar of some very dangerous people."


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay on to happier chapters for a little while! Can't wait to see what kind of trouble Kate is going to get into now that school has begun. **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate yawned sleepily as she sat in the passenger seat of the black SUV. Clint was driving her to her first day of school the domesticity of the moment felt both strange and nice.

"Why does America make students wake up so early?" Kate asked yawning again.

"Well, you should have asked that question before you wanted to sign up for school." Clint said with a smile.

Kate turned in her seat to look at him, one leg tucked under her casually. "You okay today?" She asked.

He smiled faintly as he glanced at her. "You know, I am supposed to be the older sibling." He said.

"Just answer the question Hawkeye." She said grinning.

"I'm good." Clint said. "You?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

They had a long conversation last night after the others left, just reorienting themselves to their new situation and the things they had to do to adapt to the new normal. Not that anything in their lives was normal, but it felt good to be on that same page again and to have no more secrets.

They pulled up in front of the school and Kate was suddenly wide awake, her stomach fluttering nervously. "Is it too late to change my mind?" She asked.

Clint's blue eyes lit up. "Katherine Barton are you telling me you're scared of _high school_?" He asked.

"Yes." Kate said after a second thought. "Can we go home?"

Clint laughed. "Absolutely not. Get out there and give 'em hell." He said.

Kate made a face but hugged him quickly and jumped out of the car, Clint handing her her backpack once she was out. "How do I look?" She asked.

"Beautiful." Clint replied with a proud smile. "Now go, we're holding up the line."

She shut the door and waved, quickly blowing him a kiss like she would when she was little. She saw the warm smile on his face as he recognized the gesture before he drove off.

As the SUV moved, she saw Peter walking up to the school, so she waited for him to cross the street. He looked up and spotted her and immediately smiled. She smiled back but it faded quickly as a kid in a silver sports car sped up and nearly hit Peter. She would have thought inattentive driver if the kid hadn't yelled out, "What's up Penis Parker!"

"Oh my god!" Kate said with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm good." Peter said quickly as he pulled his earbuds out.

Kate looked at the car. "Who was that?" She asked.

"That's Flash." Peter said. She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know. His real name is Eugene, but he hates when people call him that."

"Does he do that a lot?" She asked as they walked inside.

"Not so often." Peter shrugged.

Kate narrowed her eyes. "He's actually trying to hit you with his car?" She said horrified.

Peter smiled. "He's not gonna actually hurt me." He offered and lowered his tone. "You know, super strength and all. Can catch a car with my bare hands."

"That's not the point." She said but let it drop.

"You look great by the way." Peter said as they walked to their lockers which were pretty close to each other.

Kate smiled and looked down at the blue acid wash dress and denim jacket with calf high boots. "Thanks. Nat picked it out for me." She said. "I would have just been happy in a T-shirt and jeans."

They stopped at her locker first, which was quick since she didn't have much yet and then went to his. She waited patiently while he got his needed books and papers. She observed all the science things that were going on around them, kids flying drones in the hallway, carrying science projects, there were sports, but it was definitely a mix. As she waited, she became very aware of the looks they were getting, it only increased when Ned joined them.

Thankfully, she had pretty much all her classes with Peter (she was pretty sure that was Tony's doing somehow) but the one class she didn't have with him, English, she had with Ned.

First class of the day was math, which would be a breeze. The teacher, Ms. Warren was nice when Kate handed in her papers but immediately made Kate introduce herself to the class.

"Okay, everyone, settle down." Ms. Warren said. "We have a new transfer student. She's here from Germany so I want everyone to be welcoming. This is Katherine Bishop."

The teacher signaled to her to speak and Kate sighed internally. "Hey everyone. Umm…just call me Kate, no one really calls me Katherine." She said.

"How come you don't sound German?" Flash asked raising his hand.

"Cause my brother was only stationed there for a year." Kate said. "We didn't live there very long. Great food though, really recommend going if you can."

Another kid raised their hand. "So, you live with your brother?" She asked.

"And his wife, yeah." Kate said.

"Where are your parents?" Someone in the back called out.

Before Kate could say anything, Ms. Warren stepped in. "Oscar, that is an entirely inappropriate question!" She said and then turned to Kate. "You can sit down now. There is a spot open there next to Peter."

Kate really wasn't offended by the question but was happy to sit down and have the spotlight off her for a minute.

…

Peter felt his pulse jump as Kate walked over to their now shared table and she gave him a bright smile. She scooted her chair in close, her knee brushing against his. He smiled as she subtly bumped his shoulder with hers.

Kate got called on quite a bit in class just because she was new, but Peter watched as she answered easily and correctly every time.

Next class was chemistry. The teacher didn't call on her to speak in front of the class this time, so Peter led her quickly to his table which was open since Ned had been put with Betty for the class.

"The new girl seems pretty cozy with Parker." Someone whispered.

"Yeah, she was sitting with him in math too." Someone whispered back.

Peter glanced up but he couldn't tell where the comment had come from. It soon didn't matter when Kate leaned over and whispered to him to explain a chemical reaction to her.

Kate had English with Ned before lunch, so Peter was on his own for SAT Prep. As he sat down, he heard a louder buzz of whispers than usual. Normally he would tune it out, but he paused when he heard his name.

"It totally seems like Parker knows her." A kid named Ashton said.

Jason, who did the daily broadcast with Betty asked. "What's her name?"

"Kate Bishop." Cindy from decathlon replied.

"I can't find anything on this girl." Someone else said. "She doesn't have any social media."

Peter put his earbuds in but didn't turn on the music. This way he could listen to them without them being tempted to ask him questions.

They had started theorizing by the end of class and some of them were pretty funny. He'd have to tell Kate about them later.

Lunch could not have come quick enough. He dodged out of the room before anyone could stop him for questions as he heard them talking ambushing him once class was over. When he got to the cafeteria, Kate and Ned were already there. His super hearing picked up her musical laugh as Ned was telling her a story as they waited in line.

Picking him out quickly, Kate waved him over already holding a tray for him.

"Hey." Peter greeted as he joined them. "How was English?"

Kate made a face. "I have to write an 8-page paper about the summer reading list just to prove I'm caught up and have it in by Wednesday." She said in annoyance.

"Yeah Mr. Cline is no joke for a teacher." Peter said cringing in sympathy.

"He needs to chill." Kate muttered with a cute pout.

She followed Peter and Ned to their usual table and the conversations were definitely picking up. Kate sat across from them so she could look at them both.

Kate scooted forward a little to lower her voice. "Am I paranoid or are people staring?" She asked.

"No people are definitely staring." Ned said before Peter could reply. "Pretty girls don't normally talk to us unless they have to."

Kate looked taken aback. "What? Why?" She asked.

"Yeah, we're not exactly the most popular." Peter admitted sheepishly.

"Then they are all crazy." Kate said. "You guys are great."

Peter was definitely feeling lighter from that point on.


	11. Chapter 11

**New chapter! **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate sat on the top step in front of the school as she waited for Peter and Ned. She had to meet with Principal Morita after her last class and while Peter and Ned were in decathlon practice. It was nice to have a minute to herself after the busy day and it gave her a chance to try to get rid of her headache while she waited.

"Hi!" A cheerful voice said nearby.

Kate looked up to see a pretty girl maybe a year or so older than her walking out the front door. She was tall and willowy with dark hair and olive skin with big doe eyes. "Hi." Kate replied putting on a polite smile, ignoring the pain behind her eyes.

"You're Kate, right?" The girl said. Kate nodded. "I'm Liz. I'm one of the upper-class mentors."

Kate stood and smiled. "Nice to meet you." She said.

"You too." Liz said. "I'm sorry I was supposed to meet you this morning to show you around, but I kept missing you."

Kate shook her head. "Sorry. I didn't know I was supposed to meet anyone." She said.

"No worries." Liz smiled. "I saw you were hanging out with Peter and Ned. I'm sure they gave you the rundown. I just wanted to introduce myself and say if you need anything let me know."

"Thank you." Kate said with a smile.

A minute later Peter and Ned walked out of the doors. Kate smiled brightly at them as they joined her.

"Hey." Peter smiled at her. He looked at Liz and paused slightly. "Hey Liz."

"Hey Peter." Liz said brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Kate looked between the two curiously for a second before the double doors opened again and the rest of the decathlon team came outside. Kate was introduced to each. They were all really nice to her, except Flash.

"So, did you and Peter know each other before you transferred here?" Cindy asked.

Kate noticed Peter freeze a little at the question, but she was prepared for it. "Yeah." She replied and saw Peter turn to her in surprise. "I got an Internship at Stark Industries when we moved back to the states. Peter and I met at the Stark Internship Retreat last month."

"No way!" Sally said. "So, do you know Tony Stark?"

_I fought Tony Stark. _"Yeah, Peter and I both have the privilege of working with Mr. Stark." Kate replied.

This all seemed to really upset Flash, but the kid was containing himself so far.

As kids started to file out of the building, they were all forced to separate. Kate started to walk down the steps with Ned and Peter but before they got too far Liz called Peter back about some decathlon thing.

"So how was the first day?" Ned asked as they stepped out of the way to wait for Peter.

Kate smiled. "Interesting." She replied. "Definitely different from what my daily life used to be." She was watching Peter and Liz interact curiously. "So, what is the story there?"

Ned followed her gaze. "No story really. Peter's had a crush on Liz for a while." He said. "He's never asked her out though."

Kate chewed her lower lip thoughtfully as she turned her eyes back to Peter and Liz.

…

Peter had to go over a few things with Liz for the decathlon event in DC in two months. However, as he listened, he couldn't help but feel impatient. Before he would have given anything to talk to Liz alone but now, he just wanted to get back to Kate.

"Liz, I'm sorry but I really have to get going." Peter said after a minute. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Oh, sure." Liz said surprised.

Peter smiled and went back to join Ned and Kate. "Ready?" He asked.

"Waiting on you." Kate said teasingly.

The three walked to the train station together. Peter was gonna walk Kate back to the tower since Ned had to head home but they started making plans to all go see a new movie that was coming out Friday.

Once they split away from Ned, Kate looked at Peter. "So, tell me what they were all gossiping about today." She said making him pause. "Come on, I know you were listening. What were they saying?"

"Well…" Peter said. "Most were just curious. They all think you're really pretty."

She smiled. "And the rest?"

"Flash says we're probably paying you to hang out with us." Kate rolled her eyes. "Most popular theory is saying you're an alien." Peter said. "They said Ned and I found you after your spaceship crashed and that's why you're hanging out with us."

Kate laughed. "Oh my god I think you all watch way too many movies." She said.

Peter grinned. "Though to be fair you know the references so…" He teased back, his stomach doing somersaults as he watched her eyes sparkle.

"Fair enough." She replied as they continued to walk. "So, what does your day normally look like after school?"

Peter shrugged. "Well, I go on patrols. I try to make it home by dinner most nights." He said.

"And your aunt has no idea?" She asked.

Peter shook his head feeling a familiar hollow sensation in his chest. "No, I can't do that to her. She'd worry too much." He said quietly.

Kate startled him by taking his hand for a minute in comfort. Peter smiled his thanks.

After a second, he cleared his throat. "Umm…you hungry?" He asked. "There is this great place I go to after school."

She smiled. "Sure." She replied content to let him change the topic. "Lead the way."

He led her down a very familiar path, under the train tracks, they ran across the street and went to Delmar's Deli on the intersection corner. Peter held the door open for Kate which made her smile, and if his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, he thought he saw a faint blush.

…

Kate watched as the older man at the counter looked up at the chime from the door.

"Hey Mr. Delmar." Peter greeted as Kate followed him to the counter.

"Hey Mr. Parker." Mr. Delmar replied. "Who's this with you?"

Peter grinned. "This is Kate." He said looking back at her. "She's new to Midtown so I'm showing her all the best places in Queens."

The older man smiled warmly. "Welcome to New York." He said.

Kate smiled back. "Thank you, sir." She instantly liked this man. He had kind eyes.

"You stay close to this one, huh?" Mr. Delmar told her pointing at Peter. "He's a good boy, he won't get you into trouble."

Kate grinned but had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. One because Peter turned bright red at the man's words and two because he was probably one that she was most likely to follow into trouble because of what they both did on a regular basis. "I'll remember that, sir." She replied, fingers lightly brushing against the back of Peter's hand. She felt Peter turn his eyes to her but didn't speak.

Taking pity on the younger man, Mr. Delmar asked. "You want the usual?"

"Yes, please." Peter said. He turned to look at her. "Kate?"

And just like it was back to light hearted conversation.

"Whatever you're having." Kate said and they resumed talking about the day and planning for the weekend.

…

The Tower was abuzz with activity when she returned. The Asgardians were being moved to Norway, the process already beginning. Valkyrie, Korg, and Miek we're relocating while Thor and Loki would remain behind to deal with the loose ends. Plus no one trusted Loki yet anyways.

Pepper had said something to her that morning about having a "family dinner" tonight as well so that was getting set up.

Kate said hi to Clint and Natasha when she came back and then went to drop her backpack off in her room and see Lucky for a minute.

Climbing onto her bed, Kate lay down and Lucky cuddled up beside her. She sighed and ran her fingers through his short fur. "Today's been a weird day boy." She said. Lucky turned his head to look at her. "Can you keep a secret?" She asked in a conspiratorial tone. Lucky licked her nose. "I think I like him."

Lucky thumped his tail against her leg in a lazy wag.

"Not that it matters anyways." She said softly. _He likes Liz._


	12. Chapter 12

**New chapter. Note at the end.**

* * *

Second day was smoother, but Kate couldn't wait to go home, thankfully Sam actually came to pick her up today and she didn't have to wait for the train. So far, other than chemistry, which she understood but was a little behind in, school was just busy work for her. It did give her lots of opportunities to interact and see what the school had to offer. At lunch, Peter and Ned were showing her the list of clubs. She almost laughed when she saw archery club. The decathlon club joined them at lunch today and there had been a strong push for her to join.

Kate dropped her backpack off in her room and took Lucky out before getting her laptop and going to the main area to finish up the last few pages of her essay. She brought Lucky with her just because she knew Tony was in a meeting with Pepper.

Walking in she stopped in surprise seeing Loki sitting in one of the chairs reading a book. Looking around, she realized quickly no one else was close by. After a seconds long internal debate, Kate walked over and sat on the sofa far enough away from Loki to be able to get out of harms way but not so far that she couldn't start a conversation.

Loki glanced at her briefly but then looked back to his book.

Lucky curled up at her feet as she opened her laptop. She tilted her head slightly. "David Copperfield?" She said, curious. "I'm surprised Tony even has that book. I thought it was boring."

Loki didn't really reply, just raised an eyebrow. Not that she could blame him, she would be cautious if the person trying to start a conversation had attempted to kill her twice in less than 72 hours too.

She shrugged and went back to work on her essay.

…

By Friday Kate wasn't sure if she hated school or loved it. She was definitely ready for the weekend plus she was excited to go out with Peter and Ned tonight.

Kate stood in front of her floor length mirror in her bathroom and debated on what to wear. The biggest thing was still blending in. Blending in at school wasn't hard but being out in a main part of Manhattan, especially with the H.Y.D.R.A. threat still very real, she had to be more careful.

Finally settling on jean shorts, dark purple converse high tops, and an AC/DC T-shirt, she straightened her hair out and, though she didn't need them to actually see, she grabbed her black geek chic glasses. No one would suspect an master archer to need glasses. Grabbing her wallet and phone and petting Lucky, she went up to the main living area. Several of the Avengers were out on missions right now, the only ones that were still at the Tower were Tony, Clint, Bruce and Thor. Loki and Bucky were there too but they weren't Avengers currently.

Kate walked over and dropped down on the sofa beside Tony since it was the current open space. Clint and Thor were each taking up space on two couches and Loki, Bucky, and Bruce were in chairs.

"Look at you all ready for your date?" Tony teased to which Clint's head shot up.

Even Bucky looked up curiously.

"It's not a date." Kate replied. "Don't incite Clint like that. I'll never be allowed outside again."

"I'm still considering it." Clint said to which Kate tossed a random stress ball in response, aimed for a sensitive area, but he caught it with a smirk having been expecting it.

Kate rolled her eyes fondly but sat back to watch tv while she waited, curling her legs up on the sofa. Peter was gonna stop at the Tower to keep up appearances that she was new to New York (which she was but she could read a map), and they were going to meet Ned at a hole in the wall burger place and then go to the movie theater. Michelle and a few other Decathlon kids were gonna be at the movie theater too.

Tony couldn't resist poking more fun. "I'm just saying…he's picking you up…you're having dinner— "

"Tony, stop." Kate whined dramatically. In that moment she sounded more like a 15-year-old than any of them had ever heard and it caused all of them to smile.

"Miss." FRIDAY said addressing Kate. "Mr. Parker has arrived."

"Send him up!" Tony called as Kate moved to get up.

Kate narrowed her eyes. "Tony…" She said.

The billionaire just grinned in reply and stood up. The elevator dinged and Peter walked out looking a little wide eyed. "Hey kid." He said.

…

Peter could hardly hide his shock as the elevator opened and security told him to go up. Once inside the elevator with the doors closed, he heard Mr. Stark's AI.

"Welcome Mr. Parker." The Irish accented voice said. "Mr. Stark requested that you come up to the main living area. "

"Oh okay." Peter said. "Thanks." _What could Mr. Stark want? _He'd be lying if he said his mind didn't go towards a new mission.

Walking out he saw Tony walking over from the living area.

Tony smiled. "Hey kid." He said.

"Hey Mr. Stark." Peter said. He looked past Tony's shoulder to saw Kate walking over and the air caught in his throat. "Hey Kate."

She smiled and walked over to his side. "Hey Pete." She said. "You ready?"

Kate seemed to be eager to leave which made Peter a little suspicious, but Tony was quicker.

"Hang on." Tony said. "Peter hasn't had the chance to meet the rest of the Avengers yet. You guys have a minute. Come on over here."

Peter followed him with Kate walking close to his side.

"Kid, you met Barton and Barnes in Germany." Tony said casually.

Waving sheepishly at the two, Peter said. "Sorry about attacking you guys."

Clint smiled. "Don't worry kid, if we'd been trying to win things would have had a much different outcome." He said confidently.

Kate smiled at her brother.

"Thor and Loki, you saw the other night." Tony said. "And Bruce."

Peter stared at the meek looking man in amazement. "Dr. Banner, I'm a big fan." He said. "You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled."

Bruce seemed surprised that someone as young as Peter was happier about science than the Hulk. "Thank you." He said uncertainly.

"Okay." Kate said looking around. "Can we go now?" She took his hand and started pulling him towards the elevator.

Peter was definitely not blind to Clint and Bucky staring at the way she was holding his hand. He'd be lying if he said his spidey senses weren't going off a little.

"You kids have fun." Tony called going back to the sofa.

Clint looked at his sister. "Kate, remember— "

"I know. I won't forget." Kate said. "Okay? Bye bye!"

She pulled him into the elevator and pressed the button.

…

Kate, Peter, and Ned were all discussing the merits of the rebooted Star Trek movies compared to the old ones as they walked to the theater. Once through the doors, they immediately spotted their group already waiting for them.

"Finally!" Flash calls in annoyance.

"Who invited him?" Kate asked Peter under her breath, knowing he'd catch it.

Peter smiled and replied through his teeth. "I think he invited himself."

Kate tried not to laugh as they joined the group.

"Relax Flash." Cindy said with a roll of her eyes.

They got their tickets and snacks, but they still had about 10 minutes before the movie was gonna start. Once they were in their seats, most began speculating about the movie. Kate, who had claimed the end spot next to Peter, just listened to them with amusement until she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

Looking at the Caller ID, she frowned, not recognizing the number. It wasn't the craziest thing, sometimes when Clint or Natasha were on a mission, they would call her from a secure line, but she wouldn't recognize the number, however, Clint was at the Tower and Natasha didn't normally call if there was someone there to watch over her.

"Hey, I'll be right back okay?" Kate whispered to Peter, who nodded.

Stepping into the hall, she swiped to answer the call. "Hello?" She said cautiously.

There was a long pause on the other end, Kate strained her ears to hear what was going on in the background. She couldn't tell if it was music or people talking.

"Hello?" Kate said again feeling a pit grow in her stomach as she kept track of how long she was on the line.

Someone took a breath. "Hello Katie."

Feeling all the air leave her lungs, Kate disconnected the call.

* * *

**Who is it? I'm gonna be honest, it's going to take me a few chapters before we get the payoff from this moment so bare with me. However, guesses are always welcome. Hope you guys enjoy!**

**As always, please review :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello everyone! Long time, I know, my bad. Work has been crazy! I started a new job but I haven't quit my old one cause I'm trying to earn extra money between semesters. I am dying and I have almost no free time, but I am trying. Thank you all for your patience.**

**Anyways, two things about this whole thing. One, I will pay off that cliffhanger, but I have a plan and it's gonna take a few chapters so please be patient with me a little while longer. Also, I never mentioned this, but I kind of imagined Kate looking like Jade Chynoweth. Look her up if you don't know who she is, she's an incredible dancer, absolutely amazing. Anywho...on with the story!**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Peter sighed as he looked at his phone as he lay in bed Saturday morning. He had been hoping for a text from Kate, at the very least letting him know that she was okay. She had come back from taking her phone call looking really pale and half way through the movie she had said she wasn't feeling good and said she was gonna go home.

She hadn't given him a chance to respond before she left, and she hadn't returned any of his texts all night.

Scrolling through the string of unanswered texts, he was beginning to really worry about her.

…

Kate stared blankly out the floor to ceiling window of her room that lead to the balcony, the alarm clock glaringly reminding her that it was nearly 11:00am. She had been like this since she had gotten back from the movie theater—5 hours later than she had promised she would be back—and she didn't plan on leaving any time soon.

She had dodged Clint, slipping past everyone when she had gotten back and when Clint came to talk to her, she had pretended to be asleep. This would only work for so long before she would have to explain why she was late last night, but she was dreading the conversation.

_Hello Katie._

The voice was playing over and over again in her head; a permanent chill had settled into her bones and her heart thudded in her chest when as she thought about what could be coming.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. She turned away from the window, blankets wrapping around her a little tighter as she rolled onto her back to look at the door as Clint opened it.

"Good morning sunshine." Clint said with a bit of a sarcastic smile. "You must have had a wild night considering you never sleep in past 0800."

Kate stared at her brother for a second, blood rushing in her ears as she thought about the prospect of telling him about the phone call. "I'm sorry I didn't call. I accidentally broke my phone last night." She said. _If you consider throwing it against a brick wall, smashing it to pieces, an accident._

Clint raised an eyebrow and walked over, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. "Kate, you know I hate being that authority person." He said. "Yeah, you're fifteen and I do trust you to make smart choices but there is a very real reason that I worry."

_That reason called me last night._Kate sniffed quietly. "I know." She said instead.

Clint stared at her for a long moment. "Kate, is there something that you want to tell me?" He asked.

_Tell him!_Her mind screamed at her as she looked at him. "Clint, I—"

"Excuse me, Mr. Barton." FRIDAY interrupted causing the siblings to jump in surprise. "You asked to be informed when Ms. Romanoff arrived."

"Thanks FRIDAY." Clint said.

He looked back at Kate, but the moment was lost, and she sat up, pushing the blankets back as she turned away from him. "Come on." She said forcing a smile. "We can all go get lunch together."

"Kate…" Clint frowned.

"It's fine Clint." Kate said looking at him. "I'm fine. It's all fine." _I'm going to make it fine._

…

Monday rolled around and Peter found himself anxiously watching the crowd of students at school, looking for the familiar brown curls and blue-grey eyes. He hadn't heard from Kate all weekend and he was really worried. He had found himself even swinging past the Tower to just see if she was okay, but he hadn't seen her.

Peter sat down in math, staring between the clock and the door distractedly while everyone else was taking their seats and the teacher finished setting up. Ned had asked him in the hall if he had heard from Kate, he was worried too.

Just as the bell was about to ring the door opened one final time and Kate walked in, holding her notebook close to her chest. Peter felt some of the tension in his chest loosen as she walked in, but as she sat down next to him, he looked at her a little closer.

Dressed in jeans, a hoodie, and sneakers, she still looked like she had stepped off a runway, but she looked tired. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun and she had dark marks under her eyes.

Maybe she really had been sick.

"Hey." She offered a half cheery smile. "Sorry, I got all your texts this morning, I phone broke after I left the theater Friday."

"That's okay." Peter was quick to assure her. He lowered his voice as the teacher called for quiet. "Are you doing okay? You left in a hurry…"

"Yeah." Kate said quietly. "I think I was just overtired. Sorry I backed out."

"No, don't be!" He said. "As long as you're okay."

She smiled faintly and just kind rested her chin on her arms as she listened to the lecture.

…

Second week of school went by in a blur. Kate was dragging by the time Friday came around. She had a mountain of homework that she had to finish that she had been neglecting because of her late-night activities. She had been trying to find the location of her caller, but so far had been unsuccessful.

"Hey Kate, wait up!"

Kate looked back, pausing in path to lunch. Ned hadn't been in school today, so she had been on her own for English. Kate raised an eyebrow in surprise as she saw Liz walking towards her. "Hey Liz, what's up?" She said as they fell into step together.

"Not much." Liz said. "Mr. Morita wanted me to follow up with you and how you're doing here. It's annoying I know but there is like a whole thing to go through."

Kate nodded. "No, I get it." She said. "Did you want to do it now?"

"I actually have to run. Homecoming committee is meeting in a few minutes." Liz said. "But if you want, you can come over to my house after school today and we can get it over with. Maybe I can convince you to join decathlon as well."

Kate laughed lightly. "Yeah sure. I just have to clear it with my brother." She said. "I'll let you know later?"

"Sure. Just text me." Liz said and headed off to the meeting.

Kate sighed quietly to herself as she walked into the cafeteria. Just one more thing to do. Looking around, she saw Peter waiting in line, holding a place for her. Her heart lifted a little as she went to join him.

…

Kate walked up the long walkway with Liz to her house. Adjusting her backpack over her shoulder, she admired the beautiful house as they got closer. "This place is amazing." She said looking around as the tasteful landscaping and the large windows that would let in plenty of natural lighting.

"Thanks." Liz said. "I know it seems like it's a bit much."

"No, it's great." Kate assured as they walked.

Liz unlocked the front door and they walked inside.

"Mom, I'm home!" Liz called as Kate looked around.

Kate looked at the furniture and the doorways, planning an exit if she needed one. It was a weird habit for a teenager, but it was one that had saved her life on a number of occasions. Including when her own brother had been brainwashed against her.

"Oh, you brought a friend home!"

Kate turned to the voice to see a lovely middle-aged woman appear out of a doorway, wiping her hands on an apron. Judging from the flour that was dusted on her clothes, she had probably come from the kitchen.

"Mom, this is Kate." Liz introduced.

Straightening up, Kate offered a sweet smile. "Nice to meet you ma'am." She said politely.

"It's a pleasure." Doris Toomes smiled, instantly charmed. "Are you staying for dinner? I'm making pot pies."

"Oh, I don't want to impose." Kate tried to say but the older woman waved her hand.

"Nonsense. Guests are always welcome." Mrs. Toomes said. She looked at Liz. "Honey, can you get your father from his office and we can everything ready?"

"Sure." Liz said. She offered Kate a sheepish smile as she left.

Kate didn't mind. She followed Mrs. Toomes into the kitchen, admiring the size and the design. It all paled in comparison to the grandeur that she saw with Tony, but despite the size of everything it really felt warm, like a home.

"Can I help you set the table?" Kate offered politely.

"That would be great." Mrs. Toomes said and directed her to the proper draws and cabinets.

Kate moved around setting up the plates and silverware along with napkins and glasses.

"You've been here five minutes and my wife has already put you to work." A new voice said from a doorway on the opposite side from where they had come in from.

"Oh, hush you." Mrs. Toomes replied.

Kate looked over to see a man who looked like he had spent a lot of years under the sun. "Hello sir." She said.

He seemed to be nice, but the warning bells started ringing in her head as she shook hands with Adrian Toomes.


	14. Chapter 14

**New chapter! I'll give you guys a hint, there was a promise that Clint had Kate make to him before she started school. It's gonna be an important piece coming up with who the mystery caller is.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate hit the punching bag in the gym. She had been trying to work out all her frustration for the last hour and she still didn't feel any better. With a well-placed roundhouse, she sent the bag swinging and stepped back, breathing hard. She caught the bag after a second and gave a half-hearted punch, feeling tired.

"You need to turn your fist more." She jumped hearing Bucky's voice and turned to see him walking forward out of the shadows. "If you under-rotate, you're gonna hurt yourself."

She looked back at the bag and mimed how she had been hitting and realized she hadn't been rotating enough so she corrected it. "Thanks." She said turning back to him.

Taking in the tired look to the Winter Soldier she didn't have to guess why he was up so late.

"Wanna talk about it?" She asked.

Bucky shook his head. "Why are you up?" He asked instead.

Kate shrugged. "Haven't been down here in a while." She said. "I need the practice. Gotta stay sharp."

"You've had a busy two weeks with starting school." He said looking at the still gently swaying punching bag.

"Yeah…" She said quietly.

"Also, with your late-night searches since you came back from the movies last Friday."

Kate froze and turned to look at Bucky who was watching her carefully. Clint had been gone since Sunday and so had Natasha, she thought she had been careful enough to avoid the others when staying up late.

"Wanna talk about it?" Bucky asked parroting her question back at her.

Kate pressed her lips into a thin line. "There's nothing. I've just been looking for H.Y.D.R.A. cells." She said. It was a half truth, she did it as a side bar.

Bucky seemed unimpressed. "Please, I had sisters." He said blandly, showing he recognized the lie. He looked at her seriously. "You don't have to tell me; just know we all have your back okay. Whatever you need."

Kate nodded quietly.

Bucky smiled faintly after a second. "Come on, I know where Sam put the last of the cheesecake that he was hiding from everyone." He said.

Kate smiled brightly and followed him to the elevator.

…

A month came and went without incident. The Avengers cleaned up H.Y.D.R.A. as they found them, and things seemed to settle down. Kate was beginning to think that the phone call was just gonna become a distant memory as she had found nothing and heard nothing for weeks. She had even agreed to join the decathlon team on a temporary basis, they were going to be heading to Washington DC at the end of the week for a competition.

Kate was rushing around main living area gathering a few wayward books that she had left up here while waiting for her bagel to pop in the toaster. It was just another school day, but she had woken up late after Clint, Tony, Wanda, Thor, and Loki had arrived back at the Tower late last night.

It was a new adjustment with Loki starting to help out on missions. Other than Thor and Bruce, no one really trusted him still, but it was getting better. The Trickster God had actually saved a few of them in some pretty close calls.

"Kate, c'mon you'll be late!" Natasha called by the elevator.

"I can't find my chem book!" Kate called back looking around in panic.

Sam and Steve were at the dinning table drinking coffee and watching the chaos go down.

"It's under the coffee table." Steve called out helpfully.

Kate gave him a grateful look as she dove to the ground and grabbed the book. She was tired, normally she would have spotted something that easy. She ran back to the kitchen, shoved the last book into her backpack as Natasha handed her the popped bagel with cream cheese already on it.

"See you later!" Kate called the two soldiers at the table to which they raised their coffee cups in farewell.

On the way out, Clint exited the elevator. Kate gave him a hug and he and Natasha shared a kiss before the two women left the building.

Thanks to Natasha's faster than legal but skillful driving, Kate was on time. With a goodbye, Kate got out and Natasha drove off, a few kids staring after the shiny new corvette.

She saw Peter walking across the parking lot, so she waited for him. He looked up and she smiled at him, but it quickly faded as Flash tried to hit Peter with his car…again. Quickly scooping up a small stone, she chucked it with pinpoint accuracy, hitting Flash in the side of the neck making him swerve in surprise. Kate was already turning back to Peter, who was laughing having seen the whole thing.

They chatted about the upcoming chemistry test as they walked up the stairs to the school. This had become habit for them to stop at her locker and then proceed to his where they would wait for Ned.

Leaning against the lockers, Kate allowed herself to space out for a moment, trusting that Peter would react if there was any danger. This last month or so had been hell, but she was starting to believe that she was actually in the clear.

_Maybe they don't want to face the Avengers._She thought idly.

She came back in to focus as she saw Ned walking up. Peter hadn't noticed him yet and was still rummaging around in his locker. Ned smiled at Kate, she noticed he was holding a small LEGO figurine in his hand.

"Come with me." Ned said putting the figurine on Peter's shoulder. "And together we will build my new LEGO Death Star."

Kate laughed as Peter whipped around with wide eyes. "What?" He said.

A couple cheerleaders nearby scoffed at them and walked away. Kate rolled her eyes at them and focused with a smile back on her two best friends.

"That's awesome." Peter said smiling as he shut his locker and they all began to walk down the hall. "How many pieces?"

"Three thousand eight hundred and three." Ned replied.

"That's insane." Kate said shaking her head.

Ned smiled. "I know. You guys want to build it tonight?" He asked hopefully.

"No, I can't tonight." Peter said. "I've got the Stark—"

"Stark internship." Ned said with disappointment.

Peter nodded. "Yeah, exactly." He said.

Kate frowned but didn't say anything. The 'Internship' was a way for him to do his Spider-Man patrols without anyone asking about where he spent his time. He had been diving in to it more and more lately and he wasn't leaving a lot of time to be a kid.

"Always got that internship." Ned commented as they walked.

"Yeah, well, hopefully, soon it'll lead to a real job with them." Peter replied.

He meant a job with the Avengers.

"That would be so sweet." Ned said.

"Right?" Peter smiled.

Ned grinned. "He'd be all, 'Good job on those spreadsheets, Peter. Here's a gold coin'." Kate and Peter raised their eyebrows at him, and he shrugged. "I don't know how jobs work."

"That's exactly how they work." Peter joked back with him.

"I'll knock out the bones of the Death Star." Ned said as they got closer to their classrooms. "I'll come by afterwards. For the most part, the difficult thing is the base of it. The top half we can knock out in two hours, tops."

"That'd be great." Peter said.

Kate looked up at the distracted tone in his voice and saw him looking down the hall. Following his gaze, she saw Liz walking by at the end of the hall talking with one of her friends. Sighing, Kate turned her focus back to Ned as they made plans to meet at Peter's apartment tonight.

…

"Okay, so how do we calculate linear acceleration..." Ms. Warren said. "...between points A and B?" Flash, who was sitting in front of Peter and Kate raised his hand. "Flash."

"It's the product of sine of the angle and gravity divided by mass." Flashed replied, which Kate rolled her eyes.

"Nope." Ms. Warren said simply. She looked at Peter who was watching a video of YouTube that someone had caught of him stopping a car from hitting a bus. "Peter." The kid's head shot up quickly. "You still with us?"

"Yeah, yeah." Peter said quickly closing his laptop. He looked at the board. "Mass cancels out, so it's just gravity times sine."

"Right." Ms. Warren said. She looked at the bully in front of them. "See, Flash, being the fastest isn't always the best if you are wrong."

Flash turned around and mouthed. "You're dead."

Kate glared at him until the kid turned back around.


	15. Chapter 15

**New chapter! The ASL thing is my nod to the fact that Hawkeye was deaf in the comics. Idk if I'm gonna include it in the story somehow yet, I haven't decided. I just thought it seemed like something that MJ would randomly know and it would be something they could connect with. **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate got held back in English for a moment to discuss her most recent paper. She had gotten an A on the assignment and the teacher wanted her to enter it for a scholarship competition that was starting over the summer. As cool as the idea was, Kate declined. If she was fortunate enough to go to college with all the craziness in her life, she was in a good position to be able to afford it. Let the scholarship go to a kid that could really use it.

As she walked out, she saw Michelle walking towards the cafeteria as well. Catching up, she said hi and they started walking together. It had taken a minute for them to get use to each other, but Kate and Michelle had become good friends based on a mutual respect. Also, they were the only two kids in the school that knew American Sign Language, so they conversed a lot together.

Once they were in the cafeteria, Kate and Michelle went to the table that Peter and Ned were at. Michelle didn't sit with them a lot, but occasionally she did. While the girl was a loner, and a bit weird and chilly at times, Kate suspected that Michelle did consider the three of them her friends.

…

"Next question." Liz said as they ran through practice drills for decathlon. "What is the heaviest naturally-occurring element?"

Charles buzzed in. "Hydrogen's the lightest." He paused. "That's not the question. Okay."

Abraham buzzed in. "Uranium." He said.

"Correct." Liz smiled. "Thank you, Abraham. Okay, please open your books to page 10."

Kate was sitting off to the side, splitting her attention between the questions being asked and the conversation that Peter was having with Mr. Harrington.

"Peter, it's nationals." Mr. Harrington was saying. "Is there no way you could take one weekend off?"

"I can't go to Washington." Peter was saying. "If Mr. Stark needs me, I have to make sure I'm here."

Kate furrowed her brow. She had been seeing Peter do this more and more lately. He was dropping out of school clubs and he was devoting all his time to being Spider-Man.

"You've never been in the same room as Tony Stark." Flash, who was listening in, called out.

"Wait." Liz said looking over. "What's happening?"

"Peter's not going to Washington." Sally said.

There was a chorus of 'no' and questions about why.

"Really?" Liz asked. "Right before nationals?"

Peter looked a little at a loss for words at the moment. He met Kate's gaze and she gave him a look saying, 'what the hell'?

"He already quit marching band and robotics lab." Michelle said, which drew a lot of eyes to her. "I'm not obsessed with him. Just very observant."

Mr. Harrington sighed. "Flash, you're in for Peter." He said.

"I don't know." Flash said. "I gotta check my calendar first. I got a hot date with Black Widow coming up."

Abraham hit his buzzer. "That is false." He said.

Despite her annoyance with Peter quitting decathlon right after she agreed to join, Kate shared a secret grin with Peter over the comment about Natasha.

"What'd I tell you about using the bell for comedic purposes?" Mr. Harrington said.

Once school was out, Kate caught up to Peter quickly. They walked together every day, but Peter seemed like he was trying to avoid her since decathlon practice.

"Are you serious?" She demanded as they got far enough away from the school making him jump. "Literally as soon as I agree to join the team, you quit?"

Peter held his hands up in an appeasing manner. "It wasn't my intention. Sorry." He said sheepishly.

"Peter, why are you quitting all of your school activities?" Kate asked seriously as they walked.

Peter furrowed his brow in thought as they continued on. "I just…" He paused and then sighed quietly. "I just feel like I'm supposed to be doing so much more than just school."

"But this is all important Peter." She said gently.

"Look at you though." Peter said. "Look at all of the cool things that you've gotten to do without being in school."

Kate sighed. "Look, I know I'm the last one to talk to you about making things normal." She said. "But keep in mind that my childhood wasn't all just cool action movie scenes or peaceful farm life. Also, I'm here at school now. Don't rush to get to the superhero job Pete, it's not all that you think it is."

They lapsed into silence as they continued to Delmar's Deli. Though it didn't say anything in protest, Kate could tell that she hadn't gotten through to him quite yet, but she really didn't want to go into detail about the things that she had witnessed. She didn't want to scare him, but he needed to see that what he was doing could be dangerous.

…

Peter had been in a weird headspace the last couple of weeks. He had been listening to the stories that Kate told him about recent Avengers missions, and he was itching to be able to go out and do more for the world despite just stopping petty crime in New York. Don't get him wrong, he loved what he did, but he just felt like he was ready for more things. Kate's warning did give him a bit of pause, but he brushed it off.

Reaching the Deli, he held the door open for Kate. "What's up, Mr. Delmar?" Peter said as they walked in.

"Hey, Mr. Parker." Mr. Delmar said looking up. "Miss. Bishop. Number five, right?"

Peter and Kate smiled. "Yeah, and with pickles, and can you smush it down real flat? Thanks." Peter said to the guy assembling the sandwiches behind Mr. Delmar.

"You got it, boss." The guy said.

Kate walked over and picked up Murphy, Mr. Delmar's cat orange, smush faced cat, off the counter. The cat purred contently in her arms as she stroked his long fur. Peter actually found himself envious of a cat.

"How's your aunt?" Mr. Delmar asked.

Peter paused at that, looking away from Kate to Mr. Delmar. "Yeah, she's all right." He said.

Mr. Delmar turned back to his employee. "She's a very hot Italian woman." He said in Italian to the guy.

"How's your daughter?" Peter asked in Italian.

Kate laughed lightly, having heard the exchange.

Mr. Delmar's smile vanished, and he looked sternly at Peter. "Ten dollars." He said.

Peter laughed. "It's 5 dollars." He said.

"For that comment, 10 dollars." Mr. Delmar said.

"Hey, come on. I'm joking." Peter said. "I'm joking." He pulled out his wallet. "Here's 5 dollars." Mr. Delmar took in and put it in the cash register as Peter walked over to where Kate was. "What's up, Murph? How you doing, buddy?" He petted the cat before Kate put him back up on the counter.

"So, how's school?" Mr. Delmar asked as they walked back to him, waiting for their sandwiches and Kate paid for hers.

"It's boring." Peter said. "Got better things to do." He valiantly ignored the look that Kate was giving him.

"Stay in school, kid." Mr. Delmar said shaking his head. He motioned around them. "Otherwise, you're gonna end up like me."

"This is great." Peter said with a smile.

"Best sandwiches in Queens." Kate said as they got their food and left.

They walked out of the Deli and they ducked down an alley. He was going to go on patrol for a while. Kate looked away while he changed into his suit but before he could stick his backpack to the wall, she grabbed it from him.

"You're gonna lose your backpack again if you do that." She said zipping it up. "I'll bring it over later."

"Okay." He said just thinking that she meant bring it to school in the morning. "Thanks Kate. You're the best."

Kate smiled and shook her head. "Well, I don't want May getting mad at you if you lose another backpack." She said. "Go get 'em Spider-Man."

He sent a web up and pulled himself off the ground.

"Peter, don't forget about—"

He was too far away to hear the last thing she said, but he assumed that she was reminding him of their conversation.

…

"Peter, don't forget about Ned and I coming over tonight!" Kate called after him, but sighed, unsure if he had heard her or not. Leaving the alley, she headed back to the Tower to drop her stuff off.

As she walked into the Tower, she went to get Lucky and take him out. The dog sniffed her and immediately gave her the stink eye. "What?" She laughed looking at him as the big fluff ball huffed in annoyance. "I can't just avoid cats. Come on, don't give me that look, let's go outside."

Attaching his leash, and rubbing his ears, the dog forgot his temporary annoyance and happily followed her to the elevator, tail wagging.


	16. Chapter 16

**Another chapter! **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

_Hey, you're home, right? Ned is on his way and I'm at the apartment. – K_

Kate sighed as she didn't get a reply to her text and knocked on the door. Listening, she heard someone in the kitchen before the door opened to reveal May, her hair twisted up in a bun.

"Hey Kate." May said smiling brightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Ned and I were supposed to meet Peter here." Kate replied with an easy smile though she cringed internally. Guess that answered her question if Peter was home or not.

As she said that, Ned came around the corner from the elevators, holding the constructed outline of the Death Star.

"Come on in." May said. "Peter should be back really soon."

_Wonder what excuse he gave her…_Kate thought as they walked into the apartment. "Smells good in here." She commented, though it was a lie. May was not a great cook though she very much made up for it in other aspects.

"Thanks." May said smiling. "I'm trying a turkey meatloaf recipe." She eyed the backpack that Kate was holding in front of her. "Don't tell me he lost his again."

"Uh, he just forgot it on the train." Kate said. "You know how he is."

May smiled brightly. "Well thank you for bringing it back." She said. "You're a good girl Kate."

Kate and Ned left her to her cooking and went to Peter's room. Kate climbed up onto the top bunk in his room, lying on her stomach, head and arms over the edge as she and Ned discussed building the rest of the Death Star while they waited.

"So, have you noticed anything going on with Peter lately?" Ned asked after a minute.

Kate froze. "What do you mean?" She asked carefully.

"I don't know." Ned said. "He just seems to always be busy lately. You're at Stark Industries with him, does the internship really take up that much time?"

She swallowed, not wanting to lie but knowing that she had to tread lightly here. "It can." She said carefully. "You know, despite all the Avengers stuff that Mr. Stark does, it actually takes quite a bit to be involved in the company. Ms. Potts does most of it, but Mr. Stark still owns the company and has to be involved."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Ned said.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a little bit until Kate heard the slight movement of the window. Tensing, she turned her head, half expecting to see a robber. Her heart stopped instantly as she saw the familiar red and blue suit climbing in through the window, Peter obviously not having seen them in there.

_Oh shit…_

…

Peter kept his eyes on the bedroom door as he slowly, carefully opened the window. May was moving around in the kitchen and the last thing he needed was for her to notice him climbing in through the window in his suit. Removing his mask, he quietly crawled across the ceiling, inching towards the door before he was able to pull it closed part way with his webs. Still holding onto the ceiling with one hand, Peter lowered himself down to land on his feet on the floor before shutting the door the rest of the way.

Considering he had shut his door before he had left for school this morning, it didn't occur to him to think about why the door had been open…until he turned around.

First, his eyes connected with Kate's wide, horrified blue-grey eyes as she sat on her knees on top of the bunk bed, then he saw Ned sitting on the bottom bunk holding the Death Star. Or he was, until the LEGO set fell out of the boy's hands in his shock, making no move to stop the fall.

The LEGO set made the loudest crash in the silence as it hit the floor and broke apart into a thousand pieces.

"What was that?" May called from the kitchen.

Peter spun around with wide eyes. "It's nothing. Nothing." He called quickly before turning back to Ned.

"You're the Spider-Man." Ned said. "From YouTube."

"I'm not." Peter said hitting the spider logo on his chest, the suit falling off him, panic taking over. "I'm not."

Ned pointed up. "You were on the ceiling." He said.

"No." Peter tried to deny at first, noticing Kate put her face in her hands. "Ned. What are you doing in my room?"

"May let us in." Ned said standing up. "We were gonna finish the Death Star."

Peter kicked the suit out of sight. "You can't just bust into my room!" He broke off, stepping over towards Ned and turning to the door as it opened.

"That turkey meatloaf recipe is a disaster." May said laughing as she waved her hand to disperse some smoke that had come off her latest cooking attempt. "Let's go to dinner. Thai? Ned, Kate, you want Thai?"

"Yes." Ned said.

"No." Peter said. "He's got a thing."

Ned nodded. "A thing to do after." He said poorly playing along.

"I don't." Kate said.

Peter turned around and looked at her with wide eyes. She just gave him an innocent smile in return.

"Okay." May said not catching the moment between Peter and Kate. He pointed at Peter. "Maybe put on some clothes."

Peter realized that moment that he was standing in just his boxers. He grabbed his grey sweater off the chair and pulled it on as May shut the door.

"Oh, she doesn't know?" Ned said in shock as he turned to

"Nobody knows." Peter said. "Well, Mr. Stark knows because he made my suit. That's it. And…" He looked up at Kate, meeting her gaze for a moment.

"Tony Stark made you that?" Ned said in shock and joy as he missed the last part of the sentence. "Are you an Avenger?"

Peter shrugged. "Yeah, basically." He said not noticing the look Kate gave him.

Suddenly, Ned's brain caught up and he turned to looked at Kate. "Wait, you knew about this too?" He asked.

Kate sent a quick glare at Peter before she cleared her throat. "Yeah, I knew." She said.

"You can't tell anybody about this." Peter said quickly, trying to take the attention off her. "You gotta keep it a secret."

"Secret? Why?" Ned asked disappointed.

"You know what she's like." Peter said in a low, frantic tone as he motioned to the door. "If she finds out people try and kill me every night, she's not gonna let me do this anymore. Come on, Ned, please."

"Okay, okay, okay." Ned said. "I'll level with you. I can't keep this a secret. It's the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."

Peter cut him off. "Ned, May cannot know." He said firmly. "I cannot do that to her right now. You know? I mean, everything that's happened with her, I- Please."

Ned paused. "Okay." He said sensing the gravity of Peter's words.

"Just swear it, okay?" Peter said.

"I swear." Ned replied.

Peter felt relief coarse through him. "Thank you." He said. He paced away. "Ican't believe this is happening now."

"Can I try the suit on?" Ned asked, back to his hyper cheery self.

"No." Peter said.

"How's it work? Magnets?" Ned asked as he walked over to the door with Peter. "How do you shoot the strings?"

Peter stopped the rapid-fire questions. "I'm gonna tell you at school tomorrow." He promised.

"Great." Ned said as Peter started to push him out the door. "Okay, well, wait, then." Peter paused. "How do you do this and the Stark internship?"

Peter frowned. "This is the Stark internship." He said. Realization struck Ned and he grinned. "Just get out of here."

He shut the door behind Ned and leaned against it for a second before he dared to look up at Kate who had jumped down from the bunk.

Kate crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking beautiful but fierce. She was not happy with him.

"Nice job Spider-Man." She muttered before walking past him to join May while they waited for him to get dressed.


	17. Chapter 17

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate hadn't said much since they left the apartment. The three of them walked a block to a Thai place to get dinner. She hadn't been lying, she didn't have anywhere to be right now plus after the whole slip at the apartment she was enjoying making Peter squirm a little.

The two teens went to get a table as May went to place an order.

"This is why you look at your text messages." Kate said under her breath. "I sent you like five reminders about us coming over tonight."

"I'm sorry, I was distracted." Peter said. "Something happened tonight…"

Kate and Peter leaned apart as May came back to the table, happily chatting about something that had happened during the day.

"So, Kate." May said as the food arrived. "How are things going now? You've been in New York for a couple months now. Still enjoying it?"

"Yeah, it's been really good." Kate replied.

"And your brother and sister-in-law?" May asked. "Are they liking it?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. Though I'm sure they could settle anywhere." She said.

"That's great!" May said, genuinely happy.

Kate smiled. That's what she loved about May; the woman was definitely one of the good souls of the world.

May looked at Peter, who had been quiet since she sat down. "What's the matter?" She asked as he pushed his food around on his plate. "Thought you loved larb. It's too larby? Not larby enough." Kate smiled and Peter had the beginnings of a smile. "How many times do I have to say "larb" before you talk to me? You know I larb you."

Kate chuckled softly as Peter looked up. "I'm just stressed." He said. "The internship, and I'm tired. A lot of work."

May got a look on her face. "The Stark internship." She said. "I have to tell you, not a fan of that Tony Stark." Kate and Peter both looked at her. "You're distracted all the time. He's got you in your head."

Kate gave Peter a quick side eye before the report on the tv behind May caught her attention. She looked up as she saw the pictures flashing on the screen as May's voice faded to the background.

_Delmar's Sandwiches was destroyed in an explosion after an ATM robbery was thwarted by Queens' own crime stopper the Spider-Man. As the Spider-Man attempted to foil their heist a powerful blast was set off, slicing through the bodega across the street. Miraculously, no one was harmed._

Kate watched as the alien like weapon went off, destroying the camera. She looked back at Peter who was watching the footage, even May had stopped to look at it.

May turned to both teens. "If either of you spot something like that happening, you guys turn, and you run the other way." She instructed firmly.

"Yeah." Kate said a little dazed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course." Peter agreed.

May went back to her food. "Six blocks away from us." She said in disbelief.

One of the young waiters of the restaurant brought over a dish. "Sticky rice pudding." He said looking directly at May as the teens watched in amusement.

"We didn't order that." May said looking up.

"It's on the house." The young man said and winked at her.

May smiled. "Oh, thanks." She smiled. She looked back at the teens, Kate had a hand over her mouth to hide her smile and Peter had a mischievous look in his eyes. "That's nice of him."

"I think he larbs you." Peter said.

May put a hand over her heart in mock disbelief as Kate laughed.

…

Clint was going to pick her up at the apartment, so Kate and Peter went up to the roof to wait for him while May went back inside.

Pulling her jacket tighter around herself as the air chilled, Kate looked at Peter as he tried to ignore her gaze. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said after a minute.

Deciding to not bring up the whole 'basically an Avenger' thing, she looked up towards the sky and the stars that she knew were there but couldn't see. Somedays she really missed the farm. "What happened at the bank?" She asked.

Peter sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "These guys wearing Avengers masks were breaking into the ATMs and they had these crazy weapons." He said. "I tried to stop them but one of the guns over heated or something and it blasted Mr. Delmar's place."

"Mr. Delmar…" She left the question open.

"He's alright." Peter said quietly. "He and Murph were the only ones in there, I got them out."

Kate nodded with a small sigh of relief. She reached out and gently touched Peter's arm making him face her. "I'm glad you're not hurt." She said softly.

He smiled warmly back at her before he frowned a little, forehead creasing with worry. "What are we going to tell Ned tomorrow about why you know that I'm Spider-Man?" He asked.

Kate shrugged looking in the direction of the Tower. "I guess it depends." She turned back to face him. "Do you honestly believe without a shadow of doubt that he can be trusted?"

Peter didn't hesitate. "I do." He said, nodding.

"Okay." She said. "Then we tell him the truth."

…

Kate jumped into the car as soon as Clint pulled up to the curb. She was excited to see him; he had been gone for a week on his latest mission and she had only seen him last night long enough to say goodnight.

"Hey Baby Hawk." He said.

"Not you too!" Kate rolled her eyes. Tony had started calling her some variation of Hawk, and somehow, he had gotten stuck on that one. It was apparently catching on.

Clint grinned. He just did it because it annoyed her. "Would you prefer Hawklet?" He asked as he pulled away from the curb.

"God no…" She replied.

"How was your day?" He asked as he drove back to the Tower.

Kate shrugged. "Good." She replied.

The drive back to the Tower was peaceful, Clint gave her the rundown of the mission and she told him about what she had been up to while he was gone. However, she left out the details of talking to Ned, at least for now.

Once back at the Tower, Kate hung out in the main living area working on her homework. She had enlisted Bruce to help her with a project that she had to work on for chemistry so they had been sitting together on the couch for the last two hours and he was going over the finer points of working with gamma radiation while the others were spread out either watching the movie that was playing or they were engrossed in a different activity.

The movie ended around the time that Kate was done picking Bruce's brain about science.

"All done?" Clint asked her as he stood up, stretching.

Kate nodded as she picked up her books. "Thanks Bruce." She said with a smile before they headed for the elevator.

"You two seem to be getting along better." Clint commented as they stood in the elevator.

"Yeah, he's a good guy." Kate said. She looked at her brother. "How long is Nat supposed to be gone this time?"

Clint shrugged. "This mission is a little more deeply involved than the last one. We'll see." He said.

They walked onto their floor as the elevator doors opened.

Kate deposited her books on the sofa. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine KitKat." He said with a smile. Tilting his head to the side, he asked. "Are you all done with your homework?"

She raised an eyebrow at his tone. "Yeah. What are you thinking?" She asked.

Grinning, Clint headed back in the direction of the elevator. Kate, ever curious, followed him. Looking at the floor that he selected, Kate grinned brightly as she bounced on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

The exited onto the training floor and the brother sister pair headed to the training room section that Tony had designed (with their input) especially for the archers.

Kate grabbed her practice bow and quiver, shouldering it.

"Time to warm up." Clint said, arms crossed in front of him.

"What's wrong old man?" Kate teased. "You not gonna join me? Afraid a little girl is gonna out shoot you?"

Clint grinned at the challenge. "Okay kid. Let's see how good you think you are."

* * *

**Wanted to set up a good moment between Kate and Clint. There are some subtle things I'm leaning towards but I promise it's all gonna pay out. **


	18. Chapter 18

**New chapter!**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

"You got bit by a spider?" Ned asked as the three of them walked to school. "Can it bite me? Well, it probably would've hurt, right? Whatever. Even if it did hurt, I'd let it bite me. Maybe. How much did it hurt?"

"The spider's dead, Ned." Peter cut his friend's rambling off.

Ned took the hint and let it drop before he turned to Kate. "And you're Hawkeye's sister?!" He said. "You're like some superspy?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yes, announce that a little louder please." She said to which he at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Remember, Ned, you can't tell anyone about this. It's way too dangerous, that's why we kept it a secret from you."

"I get it, I won't say anything." Ned said a little more serious.

The three paused at the corner where Mr. Delmar's deli had been along with the ruined bank, stopping as they saw all of the professional looking people milling about.

"You were here?" Ned asked.

"Yeah." Peter said somberly looking at the wreckage in the daylight.

Ned spoke quietly. "You could've died." While Peter and Kate stared at the scene before them, feeling the weight of their lifestyle, both missed the change in Ned's expression. "Do you lay eggs?"

"What?" Peter cried as both he and Kate started laughing. "No."

Ned's line of questions continued throughout the day, most of them ridiculous and at times rather awkwardly timed. By the time they got to gym, Kate was trying to figure out exactly how many possible questions in the English language Ned could come up with, that could be left.

"Do Avengers have to pay taxes?" Ned asked as Peter did sit-ups, Kate sitting beside the mat passively doing stretches. "What does Hulk smell like? I bet he smells nice."

"You have to shut up." Peter said.

"Is Captain America cool, or is he like a mean, old grandpa?" Ned asked.

Kate hung her head.

"Ned, just...okay?" Peter said in between sit-ups.

Ned was quiet for a long moment that Kate started to believe for a second that the questions had ended. "Hey, can I be your guy in the chair?" He asked.

"What?" Both teen superheroes asked.

"Yeah." Ned said. "You know how there's a guy with a headset…telling the other guy where to go? If you're in a burning building, I could tell you where to go. There'd be screens around me, and I could swivel around. I could be your guy in the chair."

"I don't need a guy in the chair." Peter said in a raised whisper.

"Looking good, Parker." The gym teacher said as he passed, reminding Peter that he had to pretend to struggle more.

While they sat there, a voice reached Kate's ears.

"Now, see, for me, it would be F Thor…marry Iron Man and kill Hulk." It was one of Liz's friends. They were all sitting together in the bleachers.

"Well, what about the Spider-Man?" One of the girls asked, drawing Peter, Ned, and Kate's attention.

"It's just Spider-Man." Liz said. "Did you see the bank security cam on YouTube? He fought off four guys."

One of the other girls laughed. "Oh, my God, she's crushing on Spider-Man." She said. "No way."

Kate tuned them out a little, feeling disappointed that the source of Peter's crush was actually crushing on him, though Liz didn't know that.

"Peter knows Spider-Man."

Kate went completely rigid as she heard Ned call this out and she and Peter looked at him in absolute horror as everyone in the gym turned to look at them.

"No, I don't." Peter said standing up quickly. "No. I—I mean—"

"They're friends." Ned said to which Kate pinched his arm, signaling for him to shut up.

Flash, who dropped down from half-ass attempting to climb a robe, overheard. "Yeah, like Coach Wilson and Captain America are friends." He said.

"I've met him, yeah." Peter said ignoring Kate's gaze. "A couple times. But it's…"

"…through the Stark internship." Ned said.

_I give up. _Kate thought putting her hand to her face.

"Yeah, well, I'm not really supposed to talk about it." Peter said looking back at Ned and giving him a 'shut the hell up' look.

"Well, that's awesome." Liz commented, smiling.

"Hey, you know what?" Flash said and Kate's stomach was in her throat. "Maybe you should invite him to Liz's party. Right?"

"Yeah, I'm having people over tonight." Liz said. "You guys are more than welcome to come."

If Kate could have any power, she wished for telepathy (or mind control) to stop this whole thing from continuing.

"You should totally invite your personal friend Spider-Man." Flash said.

"It's okay." Liz said trying to diffuse this. She probably didn't believe that Peter 'knew' Spider-Man. "I know Peter's way too busy for parties anyway, so..."

"Come on." Flash said not willing to let it drop. "He'll be there. Right, Parker?"

Everyone started to file out of the gym as Peter turned back to them. "What are you doing?" He demanded of Ned.

"Helping you out." Ned said, defending his choice. "Did you not hear her? Liz has a crush on you." Kate swallowed the lump in her throat. "Dude, you're an Avenger. If any one of us has a chance with a senior girl, it's you."

Peter looked at Kate, but she was determined not to meet his gaze.

…

Kate skipped out quickly once school ended, brushing off decathlon practice, though she knew that Peter was looking for her. Peter may have super senses and reflexes, but Kate had been at this a lot longer and she was easily able to slip out of school unnoticed.

Walking home, Kate just had the day on repeat in her head. The whole thing with Ned and then Liz was messing with her, but more than anything she was upset with Peter and the way that he had been behaving.

_If he's so desperate to impress, what happens if he reveals my secret to the wrong person?_Shaking her head, she sighed quietly to herself. Who was she kidding? She knew that Peter would never put her in danger, nothing that she couldn't fix anyway. She was more upset about who he was trying to impress.

Stopping at the East River to look out at the water, taking a break from walking, she sighed. "It's so stupid." Kate muttered to herself. _There's no reason for me to be jealous. _

"Kate!"

Tensing in surprise, Kate turned at the unnoticed person walking towards her. Feeling relief flood through her as she saw Sam walking towards her, she smiled but inside she was a little unnerved that she hadn't noticed him coming. "Hey, I thought you and Steve were going to DC today?" She said to hide her unease.

Sam shrugged. "It got postponed until next week." He said. "I'll probably head back a little early though and check on my house." He looked around as if expecting to see someone. "Where's the Spider-Kid at? Doesn't he normally walk you back to the Tower?"

Now that she thought about it, most days Peter walked her home. This was the first time she had gone home on her own in a while. "He's busy today and I didn't want to wait." She replied easily. As she said that, her phone buzzed. Glancing at it she saw there was a text from Peter. _Speak of the devil. _"There's some big party tonight."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "And you don't want to go?" He asked. "I would have jumped at a party when I was fifteen."

Kate laughed. "I bet you were quite the heartbreaker." She said lightly trying to change the subject.

"Well, you know." Sam played along, straightening his leather jacket. Kate laughed brightly. Sam smiled, but he looked at her knowingly. "What's wrong Kate?"

"Nothing—" Kate stopped and quickly looked away, her senses screaming at her. Looking around, she tensed and moved a little closer to Sam. "We've got company."

Sam looked up and noticed the few men in dark clothing walking closer to them. "You guys looking for something?" He asked.

"More like someone." Kate froze at the voice as a man stepped forward in front of the others. "Hello Katie."

* * *

**Oh boy...**


	19. Chapter 19

**Next chapter with an explanation. Let me know what you guys think. A lot more details and drama to come in the following chapters. Also before I forget, not only did we go over 10k+ views but also over 100+ follows! Thank you so much! I never expected any of that when I started writing this! I love you all!**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate closed her eyes against the throbbing headache that was hitting the back of her eyes as she and Sam stood in the elevator heading to the top of the Tower. She had clammed up, though Sam tried to ask her what that was about, she hadn't said a word since they left the river. Putting a hand to her left ear, which was ringing, she pulled it back to see blood on her fingers.

_~ "More like someone." One of the men said, stepping forward. "Hello Katie."_

_Kate felt Sam watching her, but she couldn't remove her eyes from the man in front of her. "What are you doing here?" She asked. _

_"You're smart enough to know the answer to that Katie." The man said walking forward more, no longer in shadows so she could see his reddish-brown hair and all too familiar blue-grey eyes. "We've been looking for you for a long time. You took something very important and we want it back."_

_"So, it's we now?" Kate asked watching out of the corner of her eye as the men with him slowly spread out to try and force their way behind her and Sam. "Last I heard you were turning over a new leaf. What happened? The Army not okay with you making a little money on the side?"_

_Barney smiled at her taunt. "Don't make this harder Katie." He said stepping forward. "Come on sweet pea."_

_"Don't call me that!" She snarled reaching for her knife._

_That was the trigger to make them converge. Barney shot forward before she could react, hand coming down on her shoulder like a vice, hitting a nerve and seizing her arm up while his thumb pressed against her windpipe just enough to cut off her cry of pain. The others held Sam back knocking his legs out to bring him to the ground. _

_Kate stared down the barrel of the gun that Barney aimed right between her eyes, his eyes now cold and unforgiving. She set her jaw. "I don't have what you want." She said. _

_Barney smiled mirthlessly. "But we both know that's not true." He said. _

_With that, he put the gun past the side of her head and fired. Kate screamed as she fell to the ground, holding a hand to her ear._

_"You have three days." ~_

Three days. Three days to reconstruct data that would take anyone an average of three months to recreate if they were staring right at it all day. Three days to reconstruct something she didn't even have. But that wasn't her only problem.

The elevator doors opened, and Sam put a gentle hand to her elbow, helping her because her balance was still off. She could hear everyone in the living room, minus the few that were on missions, but it was muted as she was only had half her hearing right now. As they came in to sight, Clint looked up and he zeroed in on her, sharp eyes never missing a thing. He shot to his feet and crossed to her in a few long strides.

"What happened?" Clint demanded cupping her face gently and turning her head to see the blood at her ear and take in the bruising appearing on her shoulder and neck, not even remotely hidden by her tank top.

Kate grimaced feeling all eyes on her. She met Clint's gaze grimly. "The carnival is in town."

…

"Carson's Carnival of Travelling Wonders." Clint said. "We were there as kids after our parents died." Vision glanced at Kate, but she was watching her brother's face as he talked about it. "Kate was pretty little at the time, but they allowed her to stay as long as we did our work."

Kate fidgeted with her necklace while Bruce checked her neck and ears to see how bad the damage was.

"One of the main performers, Jacques DuQuesne, who called himself the Swordsman, decided to train me as an apprentice but one of the others, who I knew as Chisholm, but was called Trickshot…he thought I would be better suited to the bow." Clint said. "So, I was trained by both. One day I learned that Swordsman was stealing from the carnival and he wanted me to join him, but I refused. He nearly killed me. Later on, while I was looking for a point where I could get her and I out—" He motioned to Kate— "I learned that a lot of the performers had side jobs as mercenaries and assassins. It was around that time that I met Coulson. He told me that the carnival was going to be attacked. That I needed to get Kate and leave and that S.H.I.E.L.D. could help."

Listening to Clint recount their time before S.H.I.E.L.D. sounded much worse than the way that she had remembered it. He really had sheltered her from a lot.

"But if you just left, why are they after Kate?" Steve asked. "What could she have that would make you have to hide her away?"

"It's not what she has." Clint said. "It's what they think she saw."

"A list." Kate said quietly.

Clint clarified. "A comprehensive list of assassins, both individual and organized groups, along with targets and benefactors. Things that could cripple multiple governments and things that certain people would pay a high price for." He said. "They think she saw the list and they've been trying to get to her since."

"Did she?" Tony asked somberly. He looked at Kate. "Did you?"

"Not all of it." Kate said running a hand through her hair. "I saw a small section of it."

Clint shook his head. "When I realized what she was looking at I got rid of it. I destroyed it but they think that she can recreate the whole list." He said.

Sam looked up. "And this Barney guy." He said. "Who is he?"

Kate flinched, partially at Bruce moving her arm to test her shoulder but also at the name.

Clint looked grim. "Our brother." He said. "Barney was the oldest, the most ambitious when it came to that life. He was always looking for a way to get rich and not live a life just scraping by."

"And he's willing to turn his own sister over to mercenaries?" Bruce asked in horror looking up.

Kate had never seen the expression on Clint's face that she was currently seeing. She couldn't quite place the emotions that registered.

"I realized before Barney, what her memory was." Clint said. "I mean at five, she looked at the elemental table once and could recite them in order. But when I showed Barney, he saw it as a way to make money. He wanted to use her as a sideshow act…"

Kate stared at Clint, but he refused to meet her gaze.

Bruce finished up his assessment. "Obviously there is deep bruising in your shoulder and neck. I would like to put your arm in a sling just for a little while." He said to which Kate started to protest but Clint immediately cut her off and said yes. Bruce continued. "I would like to talk about your ear though. How has your hearing been?"

"A little muted." Kate replied. "My ear is still ringing but things sound like I have that half of my head underwater."

"The gun being fired that close to your head caused a rupture to your tympanic membrane." Bruce said. "Normally, those can heal on your own but because it was fired so close to your head, there is a possibility that you could have nerve damage to that ear."

Kate swallowed. "So, what does that mean?" She asked.

"I would like to monitor it." Bruce said. "These can fix themselves but considering you have had multiple exposures to loud noises, there is a risk of more serious damage."

_Great._"Okay." Kate replied. She looked at Clint. "Can I go back to our floor now?"

"Yeah go ahead." Clint replied.

Kate hopped down from the exam table and went to the door, slipping out silently but staying a moment to listen in despite her current trouble with it.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't brought her to Berlin, none of this would have happened." Clint said. "We've gone five years without contact with them…"

Bucky spoke quietly. "Are you sure about that?" He asked.

Kate moved on and went to the elevator.

…

Turning the shower off, Kate wrapped herself in a towel and stood at the mirror, trying to avoid going out to the living area where she knew that Clint was waiting for her. Taking a deep breath, she dressed in her pajama pants and an old S.H.I.E.L.D. t-shirt and walked out toweling off her hair.

Clint, who was actually sitting on her bed when she came out, looked up. "How long?" He asked.

Kate lowered the towel, twisting it in her hands, a nervous habit that Clint recognized and didn't miss. "Five weeks." She replied quietly.

Clint stared at her, waiting for her to continue, his expression unreadable.

"When I went to the movies the first week of school, I got a phone call." She said. "I didn't recognize the number, but I thought it might have been Natasha needing something, so I answered. The minute I heard Barney's voice I hung up; it was no more than thirty seconds."

There was a silence that seemed to stretch forever between them before Clint spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

_I wanted to…I should have._Kate looked up. "I didn't want to leave again." She said quietly.

Pain flashed through Clint's eyes before he stood up and walked out without a word. Kate pressed the bunched towel in her hands against her mouth, tears streaming down her face as she slowly sunk to the floor.


	20. Chapter 20

**New chapter! Thank you all for your continued support!**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate found herself walking into the lab around 9:30pm unable to sleep. She stopped in surprise as she saw Tony sitting at the workbench working on something. "What are you doing here? I thought I saw the suit fly out a little bit ago." She said walking over.

Tony looked up. "Oh, I sent the suit out, but I was here." He said. "Just something in Queens."

Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him. "Queens?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it right now." Tony said setting aside the soldering iron and resting his arms on the table. "What are you doing up?"

Kate wrapped her hands around her necklace. "Clint's still not back." She said quietly.

Tony sighed. "He will be. Don't worry kid, he's not going to disappear." He said.

"I know that." She said. "But he's really mad at me."

"He's not mad Kate, he's scared." Tony said. "He doesn't want anything to happen to you."

Kate shook her head. "I know he doesn't, but he is mad at me." She said. "I should have told him about the call, maybe if I had and we had just left it would have been better."

Tony frowned. "Kate, stop." He said firmly. "It isn't your fault that this is happening. And the one thing you and your birdbrained brother are forgetting is that you aren't alone anymore. Things like this are kind of the point of the whole team thing."

Kate looked at the billionaire with wide eyes. Tony simply smiled back but then his eyes shifted to look at something behind her. Turning, Kate saw Clint leaning against the doorframe of the lab watching them.

…

"When did you get back?" Kate asked as they stepped off the elevator eyeing the blood and scratches on his knuckles. They moved into the living room area and as they sat on the sofa, leaving space between them, Lucky jumped up and curled up between them.

Kate smiled at the dog, scratching his ears. It was like he was trying to bridge the gap between them.

"Stark was right." Clint said ignoring her question. "I'm not mad…at least not at you." He looked at here. "I wish you would have told me, but I understand why you didn't. It's not fair the way I've made you hide and run and fight, but I hope you know that everything I've done has been to make sure you stayed alive."

"I know that." Kate said turning to face him sitting cross legged. "Clint I've loved my life. I've gotten to see things that people older than me wouldn't even know that they missed out on."

"Going before firing squad?" He asked skeptically.

"Okay that was a low point." She conceded with a laugh. "But I knew we'd survive. I knew that because I knew you wouldn't let anything bad happen to me. You've always taken care of me." She shook her head. "And I'm sorry I should have told you, but I thought I could fix it."

"Why did you try to do it yourself?" He asked.

"Because I saw how happy you were to be here." She said. "I knew if I told you that you would think we'd have to leave again and then you would be sad. Nat would be sad. These people, as dysfunctional as they are, they've become family. I didn't want you guys to lose that because of me."

Lucky seemed to know to move because he jumped down as Clint pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I would give up anything to make sure you were happy and safe." Clint said quietly as she wrapped her arms around him in return.

"But we aren't alone this time." She said softly.

She felt Clint nod. "No, we aren't."

…

Clint called Natasha to update her on what happened. She said that she would return immediately but it was unclear if she would make it back in the three-day timeframe given the nature of her mission.

Thor and Loki, who had gone back to Norway for a while were on their way back and Tony called Rhodey as well.

Kate sat in the main living area with the Avengers that were at the Tower. The windows were darkened for the first time since she had been there, or probably ever, but they couldn't risk any kind of sight into the building. She was sitting on the floor in front of Clint's legs while they all discussed a strategy for how they were going to handle this threat.

"You guys know them best." Sam said. "What can we expect?"

"They won't hesitate to take hostages." Clint said.

Steve looked at Tony. "We need to clear the Tower out this weekend." He said.

Kate smirked as she worked on her Starkpad. "We could always call Wade." She said. "He still owes you a couple favors."

"God no. I don't think the benefits would outweigh the destruction he'd cause." Clint looked down at Kate, who tilted her head back to look at him. "We could move this back to the Compound." He suggested. "Out there we have less risk of collateral damage and we might be able to contain the situation."

A horrible thought struck Kate as she heard this. "What about the kids at school?" She asked quietly. "We can't leave them unprotected."

"You aren't going back to school until this is fixed." Clint replied.

"We have to assume she's being watched." Bucky said. "We all probably are. Any alteration to schedules may alert them to a plan."

Kate tilted her head slightly. "Them acting today…Today was the first time in almost a month that my routine changed." She said thoughtfully.

"I'm not sending her back to school unprotected." Clint said, grey eyes like flint.

"She won't be." Steve said firmly, his jaw set. "Because this time we're watching out for her too."

…

Kate was wide awake. With it being nearly 3:00am, she had pretty much given up on the prospect of sleep for tonight. She was too wired thinking about the day, on top of that her shoulder was killing her.

She kept going over the month in her head, needing to find out what she was missing.

Finally, throwing the blankets back in frustration, she got up and got dressed to go down to the gym; she started getting things ready for the day, laying out her outfit, something more functional in case she ran into trouble in the day and packed her backpack. She had her books, but she also packed her bow, which was collapsible and adaptable into a staff for close combat and she had some packs of collapsible arrows.

Kate went to the gym expecting it to be empty but stopped when she saw Steve at the punching bag. It was interesting to watch each of the Avengers fight, they each had something unique in the way that they moved that allowed her to quickly identify them even if she just had to see shadows. Natasha had a grace that none of the others could match, Clint moved with amazing precision, Thor was all power and big movements, but with Steve, he had this tight control that the others just didn't match. It was like every movement he had extreme awareness of how much power he could put forward but never seemed to be go full strength unless he had to.

Now, he was releasing everything he had into every hit of the punching bag. One, two, three, on the fourth hit that she saw the bag went flying across the room with a loud bang.

"I think we need to find a more durable bag." She commented, quiet voice seeming almost a shout in the quiet of the gym.

Steve looked up, surprised at her presence.

"Sorry." She offered for startling him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Steve said grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat off his face. "How are you holding up?"

Kate shrugged with a faint smile. "I think everyone else is more bothered than I am." She admitted. "For me, I've lived with it so long that I am used to the stress of it, but I guess I was starting to think that it was over considering we hadn't heard anything in so long."

"If you hadn't had the exposer in Germany—"

"Stop right there." Kate said cutting him off. "I'm so tired of hearing apologies. The only ones who had any blame in this are the ones that are actually hunting me. Which does happen to include one of my brothers, but still, they're the ones pursuing this list."

Steve nodded in consent with that statement and they lapsed into an easy silence for a minute as they started to clean up the spilled contents of the broken bag. "Was H.Y.D.R.A. a part of that list?" Steve asked after a minute.

Kate paused a little surprised that Steve was the one to ask her that. "I didn't know it at the time, but yes." She replied. "Rumlow's name was on the list. But then, a lot of S.H.I.E.L.D. or H.Y.D.R.A. people were assassins beforehand, so it wasn't that surprising."

Steve nodded. "We're going to stop them Kate." He said resolutely.

"I know." Kate said with a smile. "Well, at least they are respectful of school night." Despite just joking, Kate froze at her own words as it struck her.

"What is it?" Steve asked noticing the change.

Kate blinked as she counted off the dates. "I know where they were planning on trying to capture me."

* * *

**I liked throwing in a little moment with Steve. I need to start writing her with more characters because I've had a lot lately of just her and Peter or her and Clint and I feel like I'm writing myself into a hole. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Note: Sorry if you guys saw the update. I made a mistake but I fixed it. **

**New Chapter! Yay! Note at the end.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Ensuring that her shirt collar was straight and the bruises on her neck were adequately covered with makeup, Kate walked into the school cautiously but with her head still held high.

It was almost surreal to be back in the building after everything that had happened in the last fifteen hours. Hearing faint conversations about the party as she moved through the crowded hallways, none of the kids having any idea of the things that happened in the shadows of their world. Everything was centralized to what happened between the students and the contents of their lives.

None of that mattered now. She had one task to accomplish today and she needed to find a certain webslinger.

Peter was at his normal desk in history class when she arrived. She walked over and dropped her books down on the desk startling Peter from his thoughts.

"Kate!" He said in an urgent whisper. "About the party last night—"

"You didn't do it." Kate said referring to him showing up in his suit. "I know, I heard about it this morning." She continued before he could start speaking again. "We can talk about why later—I got your text about finding something—but there's something I need to tell you."

Peter nodded, realizing that something was different in her demeanor today.

Unfortunately, before she could begin some more students came in and crowded around talking amongst themselves before class started.

"We'll talk at lunch." She said under her breath, knowing Peter would hear it.

He nodded almost imperceptibly, her sharp eyes catching the small movement, letting her know that he heard.

Kate bounced her leg impatiently as she watched the clock. It was frustrating to be sitting right next to Peter and not able to tell him what was going on, but right now there were too many ears that could listen in. Part of her was grateful to that on Thursdays they didn't see Ned until shop class after lunch. This was too important.

Once the bell rang, Peter and Kate slipped past everyone quickly to get into the hallways.

"What's going on?" Peter asked, concern radiating from his expressive brown eyes.

"There is going to be something going down in DC this weekend." She said quietly as they moved through the crowds. "I can't go into a lot of detail here, but someone is going to try capture me."

Peter stiffened. "What? How do you know?" He asked.

Kate spun to walk in front of Peter, facing him, acting like she was simply talking animatedly about something, but she quickly tugged at her collar and let it go giving Peter a brief look at the deep purple bruising on her shoulder that wasn't covered by makeup. It was so quick that no one would notice, but she watched Peter's eyes darken in anger. He had seen it.

…

Peter could hardly think once he saw the horrible bruises that Kate was hiding. The brief glimpse he had didn't tell him what it was, but all he could think about was the someone had hurt her.

"Peter." Kate's soft voice drew his attention as they stood in line in the cafeteria. "I need you to focus."

The room seemed so loud to him at the moment, he barely registered her nearly silent tone though she was standing right next to him. Normally, he could block things out during the day when he focused, but now everything was back to eleven again and he couldn't think. He shook his head as if to clear cobwebs, but it didn't help.

Thankfully, Kate seemed to be aware of what was going on and she carefully guided him through the line with gentle nudges or taps. They got to a secluded table where no one would hear them.

"Breathe, Peter." She spoke, facing him. "Breathe. I'm alright."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You aren't alright. You're neck—"

"Is certainly not the worst thing I've gone through." Kate interrupted him. "I didn't show you for you to lose it. I need your help, but you can't do that unless you are calm and focused."

Peter took a few deep breaths, trying to get his composure back. Her words went a long way towards helping him with that. _She needs help. This isn't the time to fall apart. _

Kate was watching his expression for a moment and was obviously relieved with what she saw as she gave him a smile.

"What do you need me to do?" Peter asked.

"We'll go over it later." Kate said glancing to her right as a group of kids looking for a table came closer. She lowered her voice. "If we hurry, we can get to class before anyone else does."

Peter nodded, catching her meaning and they both ate quickly and dashed out, dumping their trays as they went.

They got to shop class and just as she had predicted, it was deserted. He watched as she went over and turned on the radio, tuning it to some rock station that sounded like what Mr. Stark would listen to regularly before she turned to him.

"We don't have time to talk about things here." She said referring to her problem. "So, tell me what you found last night."

Peter had almost completely forgotten about his encounter with the bad guys in the park. He gave her a brief rundown of the party and how he had almost shown up in the suit but had spotted the explosion from the roof. The following chase and some guy with wings dropping him in a lake made her eyes widen.

"On my way back, I found this." Peter said pulling the broken piece of weapon from his backpack, the purple core still glowing.

Kate's eyes widened and she quickly dropped her backpack on top of it, obscuring it, as the other students filed in along with the teacher. No one really paid attention to them since they were normally early to classes anyways. Once the saws and other equipment was started up and people split apart, Kate dropped her backpack to the ground, and they crowded close together looking at the object.

"Peter, do you know what this is?" Kate asked.

Before he could reply, or ask what it was, because he had no idea, they heard Ned approach.

"Hey, thanks for bailing on me." Ned said coming up on Peter's other side.

"Yeah, well, something came up." Peter said.

Ned finally took notice of the object on the table and his eyes went as wide as saucers. "What is that?"

"I don't know." Peter said, partially answering Ned and partially answering Kate. "Some guy tried to vaporize me with it."

"Seriously?" Ned said. Peter nodded. "Awesome." Peter and Kate both gave him a weird look and he cleared his throat. "I mean, not awesome. Totally uncool of that guy. So scary."

"Well, look, I think it's..." Peter hit the object with a hammer, breaking apart a housing unit around the core. "...a power source."

Kate nodded indicating that it was.

"Yeah, but it's connected to all these microprocessors." Ned commented pointing at a piece. "That's an inductive charging plate. That's what I use to charge my toothbrush."

"Whoever's making these weapons is combining alien tech with ours." Peter said.

"That is literally the coolest sentence anyone has ever said." Ned said in awe. "I just want to thank you for letting me be part of your journey...into this amazing—"

Peter hit the side of the core, knocking it free but creating a small bang. All three teens jumped and looked back at the teacher to see if they were busted.

The old man didn't look up once from his word search. "Keep your fingers clear of the blades." Mr. Roald said.

They turned back to core Kate having quickly retried it from the floor.

"I gotta figure out what this is and who makes it." Peter said.

"We'll go to the lab after class and run tests." Ned replied.

Kate nodded. "Let's do it."

…

Getting Peter to talk about what happened last night had the desired effect, she could see that he was calmer, the analytical side of his brain taking control again. Kate walked with the two after class towards the lab. They had a free period before their final class. Clint would be waiting for her once school ended so she didn't have a lot of time.

"First, we put the glowy thing in the mass spectrometer." Ned advised as they walked.

"We gotta come up with a better name than 'glowy thingy'." Peter said.

Ned nodded. You're right."

_How about Chitauri power core?_She thought idly.

"Crap."

Peter's comment drew her attention up to the shady looking individuals that were just entering the building at the other of the hall.

"Come on, come on, come on." Peter said getting out of the hallway pulling her with him and Ned following. They peered around the corner together. "Hey, that's one of the guys that tried to kill me."

Kate watched as they walked down the stairs to where the shop class was. _Well, shit. _

* * *

**No rest for the weary. Let's see how this all turns out. I'm thinking I'll have one more chapter and then we'll be in DC.**


	22. Chapter 22

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

"Hey, that's one of the guys that tried to kill me." Peter said.

_Well, shit. _Kate thought as she watched them descend the staircase.

"What?" Ned asked in a loud whisper.

"Yeah." Peter said not looking back.

Ned was definitely not as calm as Peter or Kate. "We gotta get out of here." He said to the two.

"No, no, no. I gotta follow them." Peter said. "They can lead me to the guy that dropped me in the lake."

Kate made a mental note to get into Tony's tracking system tonight to find out if that was the incident in Queens that he didn't want to tell her about.

"Someone dropped you in a lake?" Ned asked continuing the conversation.

"Yeah, it was not good." Peter said with a little bit of a clouded look in his eyes. He eased around the corner to follow the two trespassers.

"Peter—Kate!" Ned whisper called as Kate eased around the corner to follow Peter towards the stairs.

"No." Peter said. "Stay there, Ned."

His voice faded as they moved down the hallway and quietly moved down the stairs.

"Man, can you imagine what the boss would say if he knew where we were?" One of the guys was saying as they got closer.

"It's saying there was an energy pulse here." The other, more serious looking one, said.

Peter and Kate split up to move out of sight before they were discovered. There was a tone of piping running along the ceiling that provided a good cover for Kate while Peter used his powers to actually stick under one of the tables.

"There's no sign of the weapon." The first one said. "And even if it was here, now it's gone."

"So are we." The serious one said as they moved to the stairs again but not before Peter connected a tracking spider to one of their boots and Kate got a good snapshot of their faces.

Once they were gone, Kate jumped down from her spot and Peter got up.

"We better get back to Ned." Kate said. "He's probably freaking out."

At the end of school Peter walked Kate outside and they quickly spotted the SUV that was waiting for her. She turned to Peter and quickly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. She felt his shock as he stiffened before he wound his arms around her back. Moving her head slightly, she put her mouth close to his ear.

"I'll call you tonight about those guys." She said. "We'll talk tomorrow about DC."

He nodded and they separated so she could head to the car.

Climbing in, she looked at Clint. "Uneventful day." She said.

"Good." He replied. "What was with the hug?"

Kate shrugged. "If we have to leave, I may not see him again." She replied looking out the window as they drove away.

…

"This is so awesome." Ned commented as he sat on Peter's bedroom floor, leaning against the bed.

"I know, right?" Peter said dropping onto the bed.

Ned was holding the tracking monitor as he and Peter followed the movements of the guys from the school. Kate was on video chat with them while she worked on something in her room at the Tower. As much as he wanted to talk to her about what happened, or what was going to happen, he knew that he couldn't talk about it in front of Ned, so he tried to focus on this problem.

Ned touched the holographic map and it changed into a more expanded view.

"They're in Brooklyn." Peter commented.

Time passed slowly as they watched the tracker. Peter discovered that Kate had been able to pull up the tracker as well, so she was following along on her end. At one point she vanished off screen but came back a few minutes later.

"Staten Island." Ned said.

"Leaving Jersey." Kate commented, staring curiously at something on her screen.

After a little while, they were all starting to doze off when the tracer beeped.

Ned jumped, sitting up. "They stopped." Somehow, he had ended up wearing Peter's mask.

"Maryland?" Peter said looking at the map.

"What's there?" Ned asked.

Peter shook his head. "I don't know." He said. "Evil lair?"

"They have a lair?" Ned said.

"A gang with alien guns…run by a guy with wings?" Peter said like it was obvious. "Yeah."

"Badass." Ned said. Peter heard Kate's quiet laugh. "But how are you gonna get there if it's, like, 300 miles away?"

"It's not too far from D.C." Peter turned, hearing Kate's comment and saw she was watching them from the screen.

Peter and Ned both turned to look at the poster that Peter still had of the Decathlon Nationals Competition.

…

Once Kate got back to the Tower, she hurried through dinner so she could get to her room. The adults were all working on their parts of the plan upstairs, but Kate needed to work on hers. It took a lot of convincing, but she had gotten Clint to agree to let her stay with Peter tomorrow after school before they got on the bus to DC.

She had established a secure link that she could video chat with Peter tonight. Unsurprising, Ned was there as well spending the night while they tracked the guys that had shown up at the school.

While they followed the tracker, she had it pulled up on one of her displays, but she was also looking at the schematics of Peter's suit as well as the data from what happened the previous night.

She winced as Peter was scooped up by the Vulture guy, but she kept rewinding it, looking at the details of the wings and the mask that the guy was wearing, looking for some signature but committing details to memory for later.

A knock on her door made her jump and she killed the screen for a moment, looking up. Clint opened the door and leaned against the doorframe.

"What are you working on?" He asked curiously.

"Just hacking into Tony's designs." She replied with a smile.

Clint laughed lightly and shook his head. "I would say that he's going to be mad, but I think he finds it funny." He commented.

"That's cause I'm adorable." She replied.

Clint smiled but it faded after a second. "About tomorrow…" He started.

Kate chewed on her lower lip. "I'll be fine." She said. "Besides, I'm sure you'll be watching."

"We have one shot at this." He said.

"I know." She said somberly.

Clint walked over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Don't stay up too late." He said.

"Good night." She said squeezing his hand before he walked out closing the door. She turned the screen back on and watched the tracker while Peter and Ned talked. _One shot._

…

"Hey, it's Peter." Abraham called out.

Peter watched everyone look up at his call. He and Kate were walking together up to the bus and he found himself nervous. What if this didn't work? "Guys." He said with a nervous smile.

"Peter?" Liz said in surprise.

"Hey, buddy." Ned said actually acting naturally for the moment.

Peter glanced at Kate and she was watching him, her gold jacket draped over her crossed arms. "I was hoping I could rejoin the team." He said.

"No, no way." Flash said standing up. "You can't quit on us..." He moved around the other kids. "...stroll up and be welcomed back by everyone."

Before anyone could say anything, Mr. Harrington walked off the bus. "Hey, welcome back!" He said instantly. "Flash, you're back to first alternate."

"What?" Flash cried.

Peter heard Kate choke down a laugh at his side and he had to contain his smile.

"He's taking your place." Abraham said mockingly.

"Excuse me, can we go already?" Michelle asked, ever one to move things along. "I was hoping to get in some protesting in front of an embassy before dinner."

"Protesting is patriotic." Mr. Harrington said. "Let's get on the bus."

Flash tossed Peter his jacket angrily and they all boarded the bus.

Peter took a seat near the back behind Ned, but Kate slid in next to him and his stomach flipped. His mind was racing over their discussion earlier, but he was determined for this to work.

He looked over at her and she met his gaze, blue-grey eyes wide.

_I'm scared. _Her words echoing in his head, he reached over subtly, taking her hand that was obscured from the others by her jacket and lacing their fingers together. She gripped his hand back.

* * *

**What would be the fun if I revealed the plan ahead of time ;) let's see how things play out. **


	23. Chapter 23

**New chapter. I've been writing a bit ahead but I don't know how long this will last. **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

"Focus up." Liz said standing at the head of the bus holding quiz cards. "Our next topic is the moons of Saturn."

"The second law of thermodynamics."

"Frank Sinatra."

"Fort Sumter."

"Flash is wrong."

"Okay, let's focus. Next one."

"Liz, don't overwork them." Mr. Harrington said.

Peter hit his bell. "Strontium, barium, vibranium." He said.

"Very good, Peter." Liz said. "Glad to have you back."

"Glad to be back." He said.

Kate smiled faintly as she watched Peter with the group at the front being quizzed. He really was smart, and he just looked in his element here. If only these guys knew the other side of him. She glanced towards the back of the bus, out the window and picked out the nondescript car that she knew Bucky was driving with Sam in the car. She wondered if they were bickering still.

Liz moved on to the next question. "What is the current standard unit of—?"

"Can I take this real quick?" Peter said suddenly.

"Yeah, fine." Liz said.

Kate looked up at him as he moved down the aisle, holding his phone up to his ear. She gave him a curious look as he sat down next to her, holding the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He said. He listened for a second and his eyes widened. "Tracker." He whispered.

Kate frowned as she watched him. Who was he talking to?

"Yeah, it's just a school trip. It's nothing." Peter said rolling his eyes. He looked at her. "Happy, I gotta say, tracking me without permission is a complete violation of privacy."

Happy. Kate sighed. Crap, she had forgotten about him watching the tracker for Tony. She scooted closer so she could listen to the call as well.

Ned, who overheard the comment, pointed at the tracker that he was watching with a raised eyebrow.

"That's different." Peter whispered to Ned.

"What's different?" Happy asked.

Peter focused again. "Nothing. Look, it's just the Academic Decathlon. Even Kate is here." He said. "It's no big deal."

"Hey, hey. I'll decide if it's no big deal." Happy said. They paused as they waited. "Sounds like no big deal, but remember, I'm watching you."

Happy was definitely one of her favorites but him watching the tracker could become a problem. However, she knew that he was going to be busy getting the SI employees out of the Tower so it wouldn't be hard for them to trick him for a while at least.

On their way in to DC, they saw the wreckage from the Triskelion that they were still trying to clean up. They got to the hotel where the team was going to be staying. They had to get signed in and then were going to be given their room assignments.

"Everyone, stick together." Liz called back as she walked with Mr. Harrington.

"Yeah." Mr. Harrington acknowledged, seeming a little frazzled.

The kids were all looking around in amazement at the massive hotel.

"You kidding me?" Cindy said. "This place is huge."

"I've seen bigger." Flash commented.

Kate rolled her eyes but smiled.

"So, what do you think?" Peter asked her quietly, a smirk playing across his lips.

She grinned back. "Well, it's no Burj Khalifa, but still nice." She said back playfully.

Peter grinned and they turned back to listen to the group. Kate looked to her left and saw familiar eyes watching from the shadows. They definitely weren't alone.

…

"Peter…why are we removing the tracker from your suit?" Ned asked curiously.

Peter looked up from what he was doing, Kate across from him working on the suit while they had it hooked up to Ned's laptop. "I gotta follow these guys to their boss before they move again…and I don't really want Mr. Stark to know about it." He said quickly.

Kate, who was supposed to be in the room she shared with Michelle, glanced at him quickly.

"So, you're lying to Iron Man now?" Ned asked sounding a little concerned.

"No, I'm not lying." Peter said thinking quickly. "He just doesn't really get what I can do yet." As he said that, Kate was able to expose the tracker imbedded in the suit. Peter grabbed it, removing it carefully. "Gotcha. All right, Happy, enjoy tracking this lamp."

"There's a ton of other subsystems in here..." Ned said thoughtfully as he looked at the program. He snickered. "...but they're all disabled by the Training Wheels Protocol."

Peter moved over. "What? 'Training Wheels Protocol'?" He said.

Kate moved up and looked at the screen. "Turn it off." She instructed.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ned said. "They're blocked for a reason."

"I know what these programs do, and they can help Peter tonight." She said.

Ned didn't look convinced.

"Come on, man, I don't need training wheels." Peter said, a little genuine frustration seeping into his voice. "I'm sick of him treating me like a kid all the time. It's not cool."

"But you are a kid." Ned pointed out.

"A kid who can stop a bus with his bare hands." Peter said.

Ned sighed. "Peter, I just don't think this is a great idea. I mean, what if this is illegal?" He asked.

"Look, please." Peter said. "This is my chance to prove myself. I can handle it. Ned, come on."

"I don't think this is a good idea." Ned said.

Peter saw his opportunity. "The guy in the chair." He said quietly. He caught Kate's eye and she smiled faintly, knowing what he was doing.

"Don't do that." Ned said.

"Come on." Peter said pleadingly.

Ned pressed a few keys and they watched the suit light up.

…

Kate watched Peter zip up his hoodie over his suit, shouldering his backpack. She walked with Peter to the door and checked outside for anyone coming while Peter turned back to Ned.

"The glowy thing, it's evidence." He said. "Keep it safe. All right?"

"Okay. Okay." Ned said picking up the Chitauri core.

Peter looked at the tracker. "They're moving." He said.

"Be careful." Ned said.

They moved out, heading back towards Kate's room. They ran into Liz and the other decathlon kids, everyone dressed in swimming suits.

"Hey, Liz." They said nervously.

"Perfect timing." Liz said. "We're gonna go swimming."

The other decathlon kids ran past them on the way to the pool, everyone laughing but trying to be quiet.

"We were—I was gonna go study in the business center." Peter said.

"You don't need to." Liz said. "You're the smartest guy I've ever met. And besides…a rebellious group activity the day before competition is good for morale." Liz cleared her throat when Peter didn't reply right away. "Well, I read that in a TED Talk, so—I—I heard it in a TED Talk. And I read a coaching book."

Kate sighed internally. It was almost painful watching the flirting, it was so obvious. However, to her surprise, Peter didn't seem as fazed by it as she thought he might.

"You really—" Peter paused. "This is really important to you."

"Yeah. It's our future." Liz said. "I'm not gonna screw it up." Kate felt a twist in her chest. "Besides, we raided the minibar and these candy bars were, like, $11." She tossed one at Peter, who caught it easily. "So, you guys get your suits on and come on."

They watched their friends disappear down the hall and Kate looked at Peter. "It's okay to backout if you want to join them." She said carefully.

He looked at her. "Not a chance." He said. He took her hand again like he had on the bus. "We're gonna do this. I'll be back in a little while I promise."

Without thinking about it, Kate stood up a little on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Be safe."

She watched him leave and then went to round up Michelle and Ned to get them to the pool. Better to all be in one place then have them split up. On her way to her room, she saw a brief flash of light.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys. I have to work this whole holiday weekend so here is a really long chapter to tide y'all over. Hope you guys like it. **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Peter crouched on the roof of the hotel, looking down through the skylight into the pool area. Everyone was jumping into the pool, splashing, and laughing. Michelle was sitting against the wall reading like normal, but Kate and Liz were sitting together with their legs in the hot tube, while watching the others play.

It was subtle, but Kate had placed herself in a place where she could see anyone coming into the pool area and in the best place to react if she saw a threat. She looked up and caught his gaze, offering a small smile before turning back to laugh at something that Sally was telling her.

Peter stood up and pulled his mask on.

"Good evening, Peter." A female voice said.

Peter jumped. "Hello? Hello?" He said confused.

"Congratulations on completing the Training Wheels Protocol and gaining access to your suit's full capabilities." The voice said.

"Thank you." Peter said realizing that it was an AI like FRIDAY.

"Where would you like to take me tonight?" She asked.

Peter took a quick breath. "I put a tracker on someone." He said. "He's a bad guy."

"Tracker located." The AI replied. "Plotting course to intercept target."

Peter watched the course outlined in a map through his mask's display. "As long as I make it back in time for decathlon, it's fine." He said and leapt from the edge of the hotel.

…

Kate didn't sleep much that night. Peter was supposed to text her when he got back to his room, but she hadn't heard anything in a few hours now. Around 3:00am, she began trying to figure out where he might have ended up.

His last cell phone ping was along the highway near a small gas station. With what she knew about the weapons that the bad guys were selling, she triangulated the coordinates of any known shipments of Ultron or Chitauri parts that she had siphoned from Tony's databanks. She found one that was headed for the Damage Control deep storage vault that was several miles from the point of Peter's last known location.

_Well this might complicate things. _She thought as she dressed for the competition.

Once she was ready, she left the room to go to Ned and Peter's room, consequences be damned for it. If she might possibly be facing torture and death, what was the teacher going to do?

Quickly tapping on the door, Kate looked around quickly before the door was pulled open and she was met with Ned's worried expression. "He's not gonna make it here in time." She said walking in and slamming the door shut.

"Where is he?" Ned asked worriedly.

"Hopefully not arrested." Kate replied.

Ned's eyes bugged out. "What?" He cried before she shushed him quickly. "What do you mean he might be arrested?"

"I said hopefully not." She replied. "Listen, it's going to be okay. I'm keeping an eye on the situation."

There was a knock on the door startling them. "Ned, Peter come on we're gonna be late." It was Liz.

"It'll be okay." Kate said quietly, walking over and quietly shutting the bathroom door. "Just follow my lead."

Kate opened the door out to the hallway meeting a surprised Liz. "Hey Liz." She said with a sheepish smile.

Liz had to work for a second to get her voice to work. "Kate, what are you doing in there?" She asked as Ned came out shouldering his backpack.

"Ned texted me about half an hour ago worried about Peter." Kate lied flawlessly. "He's been sick all night. I don't think he's up for the competition."

Liz looked concerned. "Is he alright? Should I go get Mr. Harrington?" She asked.

"No, he'll be okay." Kate said. "I think he's just got a touch of food poisoning. I'm sure he'll be great later on. I'll take Peter's sections, it'll be fine."

Without giving the older girl a chance to respond, Kate ushered her and Ned down the hall going to meet up with the others. There was some complaining about Peter not being there but most of them were too nervous to really question it.

Reaching the lobby, Kate had the urge to just disappear into the crowds like she was taught, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and continued on. She reached up like she was fiddling with her earring but touched the comm in her ear.

_"Easy Kate."_Bucky's reassuring voice filled her ears and she calmed.

Knowing better than to scan the rafters looking, she knew that Bucky was set up in a good sniper's spot watching for the carnies. Sam, Clint, and Rhodey were around somewhere as well. Unfortunately, the rest of the team was just too high profile for this plan, they'd attract too much attention.

The competition was good, but Kate had an advantage. However, she only buzzed in enough to keep them tied up with their opponents.

"We have now entered sudden death." The Moderator said. "The next correct answer wins the championship." As they put the question up on the board, Kate noticed dark reddish-brown hair in the audience. "Midtown Tech?" Kate glanced over to see Michelle had buzzed in.

"Zero." Michelle said simply.

"That is correct." The Moderator said. "Midtown takes the championship."

Everyone erupted into cheers, jumping up into chaos on stage, but as Kate moved to stand, she saw Barney standing amongst the crowd watching her. He gave a small clap directed right to her and she froze for a moment.

"We won!" Flash cried.

_"He's here."_Rhodey said into comms. _"He's six rows from the stage moving towards the exit."_

Kate tensed as she lost sight of him as they all clustered together, Ned wrapped his arms around Kate in a brief hug before letting go.

_"There's to many people."_Bucky spoke in a tense voice. _"I don't have a shot."_

…

After the competition they walked over to the Washington monument where the school had set up a tour from the group. There weren't a lot of people crowded together, which worked in their favor as Barney and the others wouldn't risk an open attack.

Kate pulled out her phone as they walked, seeing she had several recent missed calls from Peter. She held her phone to her ear, listening to the voicemail.

_{Kate! I am so sorry! I'm on my way—the craziest things happened—I hope you're alright. Please call me back.}_

_"We're in position." _Sam said through comms.

Kate took a deep breath and shoved her phone back in her pocket.

"You guys, I am so proud of you." Mr. Harrington was saying.

"Told you we didn't need Peter." Flash said.

Sally shook her head. "Flash, you didn't answer a question." She shot back.

Kate stopped next to Michelle, who was hanging back. "Good job on that last question." She offered.

"Thanks." Michelle looked at her with that all knowing look again, like she could read Kate's mind. "You could have easily gotten that question."

Kate smiled. "Guess I was a bit distracted." She offered.

"Seems to be going around." Michelle replied before looking up at the monument.

Before Kate could reply, Mr. Harrington walked up.

"Taking it all in, Michelle?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah, I just—" Michelle looked up again before looking at Mr. Harrington. "I don't want to celebrate something that was built by slaves."

"I'm sure the Washington Monument wasn't built by—" He looked at the security guard standing outside who shrugged and Kate nodded. "Okay. Enjoy your book."

"Thanks." Michelle replied.

Kate smirked and shook her head, following Mr. Harrington inside. As she walked inside, she took one last look around, quickly spotting the faces she was looking for, surprisingly seeing one that she was not expecting but that was definitely welcome right now.

Ned was on his phone when she walked up.

…

"Oh, Ned, you're alive." Peter said in relief when his best friend picked up. He had been having mass anxiety all night not being able to get a hold of anyone.

_"Peter, are you okay?"_Ned asked.

_No, I'm freaking out. _"Where's the glowy thing?" He asked instead.

_"The glowy thing?" _Ned said confused._"It's safe. It's in my backpack."_

"Ned, listen, the glowy thing is dangerous!" Peter cried over the sounds of a truck going by.

Ned wasn't listening. _"You missed the decathlon. I covered for you." _He said.

"Listen." Peter tried again.

_"We're at the Washington Monument—"_

_"Peter, is that you?"_A new voice cut Ned off.

Peter froze. "Hey, Liz." He said nervously. "Put Ned back on the phone."

_"You flake. You are lucky we won." _Liz said._"I want to be mad, but I'm more worried. Like, what is going on with you?"_

"I have to talk to Ned. It's important." Peter pleaded. "There's something in Ned's backpack. It's dangerous. Don't let it go through x-ray." There was no response. "Liz? Liz! Damn it."

…

Kate had been waiting next to Ned to talk to Peter but when Liz came up, she suddenly snatched the phone away from Ned. They moved through the security point, Liz still talking on Ned's phone chewing Peter out.

"Can I be the one to tell Peter he's expelled?" Flash was saying as the elevator doors closed.

"What was Peter saying?" Kate asked Ned in a hushed whisper as they stood at the back of the group.

The guide was going on in a bored voice. "The Washington Monument is 555 feet, five and one-eighth inches tall. Notice how the marble and granite are cut around the stone." She said.

"I'm not sure." Ned said. "It was really loud on the line…"

As he spoke, Kate noticed a faint glow getting brighter in his backpack. "Ned, did you bring the power core with you?" She asked in growing alarm, thinking of the x-ray machine on the way in.

"Yeah why?" Ned asked.

Kate grabbed the backpack, yanking it off and tossing it in the corner just before the core detonated.

_"Kate! What happened!" _The chorus of cries hit her ears as she coughed on the smoke. Clint's voice rang in her ears. _"KATE!"_

…

"No, no, no." Peter said as he looked up at the top of the monument, which had smoke pouring out of it. "Karen, what's going on up there?"

"The Chitauri core has detonated and caused severe structural damage to the elevator." The AI replied showing him an x-ray scan of the top.

"Oh, no." Peter said, heart sinking.

"My friends are up there." He heard someone say beside him.

Peter spun. "What?" He froze seeing Michelle. "Don't worry, ma'am, everything's gonna be okay." He ran forward moving through the gathering crowd. "Excuse me, excuse me." He brushed past a tall man with reddish-brown hair and got to the base of the building. "Oh, my God, that's tall." He muttered before beginning the climb.

…

Once the smoke cleared a little, Kate could look around and assess the damage. Ned was staring at his smoking backpack in horror but thankfully no one was currently hurt.

"Oh, my God." Liz said. "Look at the ceiling."

There was a large hole burned through the top of the elevator.

"Just stay calm, everyone." The guide said.

"Oh, we are all going to die here." Flash said.

Kate glanced around. "We're gonna be fine." She said though she could tell from the groaning of the metal that the systems were failing fast. _Great, all the concern about the carnies and I'm going to die in a freaking elevator. _

_"Hang on kid." _It was Steve's voice that she heard this time. _"We're on our way." _

_…_

"Estimating 10 minutes before catastrophic failure." Karen told Peter as he raced to climb to the top of the monument. "The safety systems are completely failing. The occupants are in imminent mortal danger."

"Going as fast as I can!" Peter said. _Please be okay. Please._

…

They were stopped right below one of the floors, so Kate jumped up and pushed the top panel open as the doors above them were pried open. She felt relief course through her as she saw Steve there with the security.

"Let's go." Steve said as Kate hopped down to start moving people into position. "Give me your hand."

"Sally, go." Kate said moving her into position first.

…

"You now have 125 seconds until catastrophic failure." Karen said.

"What?!" Peter cried, only about half way up. "Why?"

"Unexpected motion has caused the deterioration to escalate." The AI replied showing him the scan that indicated they were climbing out of the elevator.

Peter looked up. "How do I get in there?" He asked.

"Activating reconnaissance drone." Karen said.

Peter watched as a little spider drone detached from the spider symbol on his chest. "Has that been there this whole time?" He asked. "That's awesome."

"Locating optimal entry point." Karen said. "Proceed to southwest window."

"I'm on my way." Peter said moving around the corner of the building to continue up.

…

"There's a lot of glass here." Cindy said nervously as she climbed up.

"You got this." Kate said reassuringly.

Steve reached down a hand. "Keep coming." He said.

…

"Okay." Peter said reaching the top and making the mistake of looking down. "Oh, my God. Okay."

"What's wrong?" Karen asked. "You've reached the southwest window. Why are you hesitating?"

Peter took a deep breath. "It's fine. I've just never been this high before." He said.

"You have also not reinstalled your parachute so a fall from this height would most likely be lethal." Karen replied simply.

_Not helping. _"Perfect." He replied. Easing down to the window one a web, he kicked the window, but nothing happened. "Oh, my God. Why is it not breaking?"

"It's four-inch ballistic glass." Karen replied. "You'll have to create more momentum."

Suddenly a helicopter came in. "This is D.C. Metro Police. Identify yourself." The police said over the speaker.

"My friends are in there! Stop!" Peter tried to call over the roar of the chopper blades.

"Return to the ground immediately." The police called.

_Not a chance. Sorry. _

…

"Okay, who's next?" Mr. Harrington asked.

Before Liz could go, Flash pushed his way forward. "Me, it's my turn." He said.

"Flash, seriously?" Liz demanded. "What are you doing?"

If the jarring motion wouldn't knock the elevator loose, Kate would have decked the kid. "Come on. Don't worry about the trophy." She snapped at the kid who was struggling to climb and hold the trophy.

Steve simply reached down and grabbed Flash's arms and pulled him up.

Kate had Liz move forward just as the elevator safety systems failed completely and they began to fall.

…

"Stand down!" The police called again. "Return to the ground immediately. Return to the ground or we will open fire!"

_I hope this works. _Peter climbed to the top point of the monument. "I got this." He said under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut.

"This is your last chance." The police officer yelled.

"I'm gonna die." Peter said before jumping up, activating the glider wings on the suit to go over the helicopter. Dropping, he attached a web to the underside of the helicopter to swing back to the window. "Break!" He broke through the window and slid in just as the elevator failed and started to go down.

Peter's mind vaguely recognized Steve Rogers was there, moving out of his way as he slid in, bracing his feet on the open elevator doors and webbing the top of the falling elevator, halting it. "I did it." Spoken too soon as the doors bent in causing him to fall into the shaft before Steve could grab him.

…

When the elevator jerked to a stop, Kate looked up and saw the red and blue suit. She didn't have enough time to feel relieved before they were falling again. However, a millisecond later the elevator caught on something, stopping them for a moment before Peter came crashing through the hole and it knocked them into motion again. Thinking quickly, Peter shot a web up to the top of the elevator shaft, and his feet braced against the roof to stop it from moving again.

Kate shook her head slightly, feeling like her spine had been compressed a bit with all the falling and stopping. She looked up and saw Peter looking at her.

"Hey, how you doing?" Peter asked. If it hadn't been so dire of circumstances, she would have laughed at his Jersey-ish accent. "Don't worry. I got you."

Kate grinned.

"Yes! Yes." Ned started celebrating but the elevator began to groan.

"Hey, hey, hey." Peter said as Kate reached out to still him. "Big guy, quit moving around."

Ned immediately stopped. "I'm sorry, sir." He said. "So sorry."

The elevator doors were pried open at the floor they had stopped at. Steve and two security were there.

"Let's go, let's go!" Steve said.

Kate immediately took charge in the elevator, they needed to lighten it quickly. "Mr. Harrington, go." She directed, then turned to Ned. "Ned, come on."

"This is your stop." Peter couldn't help but quip.

"Come on, Liz." Kate urged.

"Go, go, go. Everybody out." Peter's voice sounded strained.

Liz froze. "Are you sure it's safe?" She asked.

"Liz, go." Kate urged. Seeing her still frozen, Kate made the decision and shoved her forward so Steve could grab her and pull her out.

Unfortunately, the sudden jar caused the elevator to cave and collapse, falling once again.

…

"Kate!" Peter cried. He shot out a web and connected to her hand, pulling her out of the hole, bringing her back up, but right before he could grab her hand the other web gave out and they fell.

Peter wrapped his arms around her, shoot up a web as she wrapped her arms around his neck but produced a small explosive arrow, throwing it out at the shut elevator doors that they were swinging towards, creating a hole that they sailed through.

Peter landed on his back and Kate landed on top of him. They stayed that way for a second just trying to catch their breath and let the adrenaline lower down a bit.

"You're okay. You're okay." He chanted quietly, just reassuring himself that it was true.

Kate rested her head on his chest for a second, then giggled and lifted her head. "Nice catch slick." She said.

"Now's your chance Peter." Karen whispered quietly. "Kiss her."

But the moment passed, and Kate rolled off and they both sat up. She put a hand to her ear. "I'm okay." She said into a comm.

If he tried, Peter could hear the faint voice on the other end.

_"Are you hurt?" _It sounded like Clint.

"No, I'm fine." She gave Peter a quick smile. "How did we do?"

There was a pause. _"Negative. They're in the wind."_

Kate's smile disappeared. "Damnit!" She said smacking the ground with her palm.

…

The bus ride home was noisier than usual, but it allowed Kate to sit with Peter in the back, talking quietly.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there." Peter said hanging his head. "I messed up."

Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing. "If it wasn't for you, I would be smashed at the bottom of an elevator shaft right now." She whispered. "You saved my life. You saved all of us."

"But the guys that were after you got away." He said. "I didn't even get the Vulture guy."

"It's okay Peter." She said gently.

They lapsed into silence for the remainder of the ride. Kate knew that Bucky and Sam would be following. Rhodey and Steve were staying behind to calm things down and Clint had to race ahead of the bus because the school would be calling him to pick her up at the school.

Ned had his phone out and was listening to the news so Kate and Peter watched over his shoulder.

_The Spider-Man swooped in…heroically saving an Academic Decathlon team from Queens. The identity of the masked hero is still unknown._

Kate squeezed Peter's hand and rested her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes for the last twenty miles. Once the bus pulled in, they saw all the parents waiting to swarm their kids.

One by one, kids got off the bus. Liz's mom was there, so was Ned's; May was anxiously waiting to pull Peter into a hug. She hugged Kate tightly too until Kate saw Clint and went over to her brother.

Clint wrapped her up tightly in his arms and she gripped him back just as fiercely.

…

Peter looked over at where Kate went to Clint. He could easily read the relief in Clint's body language that his sister was safe.

Clint looked up, noticing his gaze but not letting go of Kate. He gave Peter a nod in thanks for what he had done to save her. Peter nodded back somberly. _They weren't done yet. _


	25. Chapter 25

**New chapter. Sorry it's taken so long, I had writer's block for a little while. I'm still not happy with some aspects of this chapter though. Anyways, note at the end as well.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

It was Monday morning and Kate was lying on her bed, Lucky had his head on her stomach while she idly rubbed his ears. Clint had insisted that she stay at the Tower once they got back Saturday night. He had been wound tightly since DC and she wasn't going to push him…no matter how much she wanted to be at school.

She had a projection of the school's news feed playing.

_"This past weekend, Midtown's Academic Decathlon team defeated the country's best to win the national championship. Later that day, they also defeated death." _Betty was saying.

It cut to an interview with the decathlon team.

_"Explosion. Salty scream."_Abraham said animatedly. _"Flash scream. Everybody screaming."_

_"There were purple lasers and smoke." _Charles said. _"It was tight, like a Bon Jovi concert."_

Mr. Harrington stood by the bus. _"As you know, we made it out alive, and that's the important thing. I couldn't bear to lose a student on a school trip…Not again."_Kate raised an eyebrow at that making a note to look that up later.

_"Thankfully, no one was seriously injured thanks to the Spider-Man." _Jason said.

_"Thank you, Spider-Man."_Jason and Betty said together.

Jason looked at the camera. _"Up next: the Spider-Man mania is sweeping the school. How can you show your spider spirit?" _ He said.

She chuckled to herself wondering if this was going to Peter's head just a bit. As she lay there her phone dinged.

_Hey – P_

"Speak of the devil." She muttered.

_Hey superstar! You get mobbed by screaming fans this morning? – K_

_LOL! No not yet…You okay? – P_

Kate sighed as she looked at the message.

_Yeah…on lockdown until further notice. – K_

She watched the text bubble as she waited for a reply. The idea of essentially being locked in the Tower, despite it being one of the most secure buildings in the world and the Avengers being there, Kate felt trapped, like a sitting target. The ding of the text message startled her out of her thoughts.

_Can I come over there? – P_

Kate raised an eyebrow. Lucky looked up at her, nudging her hands as if to warn against it.

_Aren't you supposed to be taking a Spanish quiz? – K_

Less than half a beat before the reply.

_Aren't you? – P_

She smiled faintly.

_Come to my balcony. Don't go to the front door. – K_

Lucky whined at her. She sighed as she dropped her phone onto the bed. "I know, I know." She muttered getting up to change out of her pajamas.

She was tying her purple converse when Lucky barked, alerting her to the presence at her balcony. Looking up, she saw Peter in his suit, standing a little awkwardly outside. She waved him in.

"Hey." She said smiling.

"Mr. Parker is not supposed to be on premises at this time." FRIDAY said before he could answer.

Kate sighed. "I'm aware FRIDAY." She replied. She looked at Peter as he took his mask off. "What's going on?"

Peter wasn't looking at her though, he was looking at Lucky, who was staring at the teen boy somberly from where he stood on her bed.

"Lucky, it's okay." Kate said. "He's a friend."

Lucky continued to stare at Peter before he suddenly gave one big lick from Peter's chin to his hairline and his tail began to wag. Kate let out a relieved sigh that Lucky was okay with Peter, because she had seen it go the other way too. _Poor Tommy._She thought.

"Was there any progress made on tracking those guys that were after you?" Peter asked as he played with Lucky.

"No." Kate said quietly. "In all the chaos at the Monument they were able to get away." She ran her fingers through her curls sighing at their craziness before sweeping it up into a messy bun. She looked back at him. "What about your guy?"

Peter shook his head.

"Well…" She said thoughtfully. "Have you looked at the footage from your suit?"

"There's footage?" He asked looking up at her.

Kate smiled. "You're surprised by that?" She asked.

"That's fair." Peter admitted.

"It's called the baby monitor protocol." Kate couldn't help but throw in.

Peter sighed. "Of course it is." He said.

Having left her Starkpad upstairs, Kate ran out leaving Peter in her room where no one was likely to come across him. Retrieving the pad, Kate was about to head downstairs again, but as she waited for the elevator it opened to reveal Wanda.

Kate froze. Wanda had become like her big sister, though they hadn't had a lot of time to spend together because of missions, the two were close. However, she was also the one that was most likely to figure out that Kate was currently hiding a teen superhero, a boy at that, in her room. It really wouldn't even be Wanda's fault because of her powers.

"Hey!" Kate said quickly.

"Hey." Wanda smiled in that gentle way that she had. "How are you holding up?"

Despite the secret she was trying to hide, Kate sighed. "I'm honestly so tired of that question." She said.

Wanda smiled. "I know." She said. "But speaking from experience, feeling like you are a prisoner is extremely taxing. I worry."

That caused a feeling of warmth to spread through her body. "I know." Kate said. "And I'm sorry, I shouldn't be snippy about it."

"The good thing is you don't have to explain yourself to me." Wanda said smiling. She looked at the tablet that Kate was holding close. "Are you heading back to the lab?"

"No." Kate cleared her throat. "I was just going to be on my floor for a bit. It's quieter right now."

Wanda gave her an appraising look but let it drop. "Want me to come get you for lunch?" She asked. "Sam said that they were getting Thai food."

"Yeah, sounds good." Kate said. "Thanks Wanda."

While she was gone, Peter had set up on the floor of her room scanning through footage from his suit while wearing the mask. He had been talking to the AI of the suit that he had apparently named Karen. Once she brought the tablet in, they were able to hook up the suit so they could bring up a projection that they could both watch. She looked at the footage of him on the roof of Liz's house, looking at all the kids inside, including Ned, who looked a little lost.

Kate looked up at him. "Even though, socially, it wasn't great for you or Ned, I'm really proud of you for not going through with that." She said.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they sat shoulder to shoulder on the floor at the end of her bed. When they got to the footage of the park, Kate leaned forward as they saw the buyers and sellers.

"Karen," Peter asked, indicating the seller. "The two on the right, who are they?

"Searching law enforcement databases." The AI replied. "No records found for two of the individuals."

Peter frowned. "Nothing?"

"One individual identified." Karen said. "Aaron Davis, age 33. He has a criminal record and an address here in Queens."

Peter looked up at Kate. "Let's pay him a visit." He said.

"I must remind you Miss. Barton that you are confined to the Tower while you are still at risk." FRIDAY spoke suddenly.

"I'm aware of my orders FRIDAY." Kate sighed. She looked at Peter. "Call me when you have something, I'll help where I can." He nodded. She swiftly kissed his cheek. "Be careful."

Peter nodded and put his mask back on before he left via the balcony again.

…

That was the second time that she had kissed his cheek right before a mission. Peter was trying really had not to overanalyze it, but his heart was racing as he replayed the feeling of her soft lips pressed to his cheek over and over in his mind while he followed the directions that Karen was giving him as he tracked Aaron Davis.

The interrogation wasn't his best intimidating moment, but he did have a location.

"What did you find?" Kate asked as soon as the line connected in his heads-up display.

"The 11 o'clock Staton Island Ferry." Peter replied. "Supposedly there is some big deal going down there."

Kate frowned. "You're going to need backup." She said. "I can be there in 10 minutes."

Peter shook his head. "No, you should stay there. Better not to anger your brother." He said.

"I don't like this Peter." She said seriously. "Just come back to the tower, we'll talk to Tony and the others."

"Mr. Stark will never give me the chance to prove myself if I keep running to him for help." Peter said. "He already doesn't think that I can do this on my own."

"Peter…" Kate said chewing on her lip. "That's not—"

"It'll be fine." Peter said. "I'm almost at the ferry. I'll call you when it's done."

…

Kate was sitting in the main living area of the Tower, looking at her tablet screen anxiously. This whole thing made her nervous. Yes, she knew how skilled Peter was, but she also knew that he was overzealous and too impulsive.

She looked away from her tablet for a second, looking around the room. Steve and Bucky were working on security measures for the Tower, planning what to do if the carnies decided to attack. Thor was in the kitchen making poptarts, and Loki was sitting nearby reading a book. The other Avengers were spread out around the tower doing various tasks to keep themselves busy.

Suddenly, Tony came into the room looking worked up over something. He went right to Kate, drawing everyone else's attention as well. "Where is he?" Tony demanded.

Kate froze. She didn't have to be told who he was asking about.

…

Peter sat on the building ledge looking out at the water while he waited to Tony to finish cleaning things up with the ferry. He had royally screwed up this time and he knew that Tony was mad.

As he sat there, a shiver ran up his spine as his spidey sense went haywire. Spinning around, he looked at the man that he didn't recognize standing on the roof.

The man had a severe edge to him, mostly white hair with just hints of black in a sharp crew cut with old scars marking his face and arms. The man had a bow and arrows at his back, but he didn't present a weapon to attack Peter, so it gave the teen pause.

_How did I not hear him until he was right here?_Peter thought nervously. "Who are you?" He asked.

"The attack is going to happen tonight." The man said. "Katherine is in danger."

Peter froze. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"You need to warn her." The man replied before turning to leap over the edge of the building.

Before Peter could follow, Tony flew in, landing on the roof. Peter turned to look at the older man in horror.

Tony was looking in the direction of the man who had been on the roof. When he turned to look at the teen, his eyes were sharp. "You're coming back to the Tower, now." He wasn't giving Peter a choice.

…

Kate looked at the balcony as Tony and Peter landed. She frowned at the way Peter's form seemed to shrink as he followed Tony back into the main living area.

She had been following the ferry events immediately after Tony left, though she didn't know what lead up to it.

"FRIDAY, get Clint back in here." Tony instructed. He looked at Kate still in the suit. "Pull the footage from Peter's suit, time stamped 1123."

Kate quickly picked up her tablet and scrolled through the footage, making a note to check back on the things that Peter had seen in case it had anything useful. She froze as she reached the correct spot as the elevator opened and Clint walked out.

"What's going on Tony?" Clint asked but then focused on Kate. He walked over to her as she held up the tablet for him to see the person on screen.

"I'm guessing he's familiar." Tony said.

"That's Chisolm." Kate said quietly. She looked at Clint who was staring at the image.

_Something is wrong though. He looks sick. _They took in the sight of the man's ashen skin tone and it looked like he had lost muscle mass, though for his age was still in scary shape.

Listening to his message, the siblings felt a deep sense of dread set in.

"We can't put it off anymore." Clint said. "We're leaving."

"What? No!" She said looking at him.

Clint's grey eyes were cold, there was no give this time.

…

Peter watched Kate argue with her brother about leaving and his heart sank.

"Previously on Peter Screws the Pooch..." Tony's voice cut through his thoughts, drawing his attention. "I tell you to stay away from this. Instead, you hacked a multimillion-dollar suit so you could sneak around behind my back doing the one thing I told you not to do."

Peter felt every word like a knife. "ls everyone okay?" He asked referring to the ferry.

"No thanks to you." Tony replied.

That sparked Peter's anger. "No thanks to me?" He demanded. "Those weapons were out there, and I tried to tell you about it, but you didn't listen. None of this would've happened if you had just listened to me." Peter shook his head looking at the cold metal of the mask. "If you even cared, you'd actually be here."

The suit opened and Tony finally stepped out. "I did listen, kid. Who do you think called the FBI, huh?" He asked walking forward, causing Peter to back up. "Do you know I was the only one who believed in you? Everyone else said I was crazy to recruit a 14-year-old kid."

"I'm 15." Peter corrected half heartedly.

"No, this is where you zip it, all right?" Tony said raising his voice angrily. "The adult is talking. What if somebody had died tonight?" Peter's eyes snapped up to him, wide. "Different story, right? Because that's on you. And if you died..." Tony held up his hands. "...I feel like that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience."

"Yes, sir." Peter said. "I'm sorry. I understand."

"Sorry doesn't cut it." Tony said.

Peter looked at him, eyes pleading. "I just wanted to be like you." He said.

Tony stared at him. "And I wanted you to be better." He said. He looked away for a second at the siblings who were still arguing by the elevator. "There is enough going on that I can't worry about whether or not you're going to get yourself killed." He muttered quietly before he turned back to Peter. "It's not working out. I'm gonna need the suit back."

"For how long?" Peter asked horrified.

"Forever." Tony said. Peter started to plead but Tony cut him off. "Yeah, that's how it works."

"No, no. Please." Peter said. "Please, this is all I have. I'm nothing without this suit."

Tony leveled him with a firm gaze. "If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it."

…

"Something doesn't add up about this." Kate argued. "He chose to give Peter that warning. Why? What could he gain form it?"

Clint shook his head. "They're toying with us." He said. "There isn't anything to stop them from just attempting to destroy the building."

"It's all the more reason we can't just leave." Kate said.

"Enough!" Clint finally said. "Say goodbye. We're leaving in twenty minutes."

Kate took a deep breath taking everything she had not to burst into tears. She looked at Peter who had just gotten through his lecture from Tony. She had no doubt that she would get a lecture eventually as well.

_Not that it'll matter if we leave. _She thought. Clint's instructions of saying goodbye echoed in her head as she walked over to Peter.

"Mr. Stark is taking my suit." Peter said quietly.

Kate sighed. "I'm leaving to god knows where for who knows how long." She said.

Peter looked at her. "No!" He said.

Kate tried to smile. "It's going to be okay Peter." She said. She shrugged. "Maybe this is a good thing. You can focus on having a more normal life. You'll ask Liz to homecoming, she'll say yes, and in a few months, you won't even remember me." That hurt to say more than she would admit.

Peter shook his head. "I don't want to ask Liz to homecoming." He said.

Kate furrowed her brow. "What do you mean? Ned told me you've been crushing on her since forever. Now is your chance." She said.

"Ned was wrong." Peter said. "You're the only one that I want to ask to homecoming."

Kate froze and the two stared at each other for a long moment. "Are you serious?" She asked quietly, in shock.

…

Peter hadn't meant to blurt that out. Yes, he wanted to ask her to homecoming, but he had planned to make it a lot smoother than that. Now he was out of time.

"Are you serious?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes." Peter stepped forward, reaching out to take her hands. "I've never stopped thinking about you since Berlin. I've just been too scared to actually ask you out. I don't even know if you like me like that, I mean you could get any guy, I guess it doesn't even matter now—"

Kate stood up on her toes, wrapping her hands around the back of his neck and pressed her lips to his silencing his babble. Despite a half second of shock, Peter pulled her close to return the kiss.

It was almost the perfect moment, until his spidey sense screamed at him. Reacting without thinking, Peter picked her up, spinning her out of the way and jumping them both back as an arrow sliced through the air, coming from the open balcony and embedding into the space that Kate had occupied.

Landing on the ground hard, they rolled behind cover of one of the sofas as the arrow detonated. Staring at the ruined space, Kate's grip on his bicep tightened.

Her urgent tone broke through the ringing in his ears. "They're here!"

* * *

**Not a perfect moment but when are first kisses ever perfect? Anyways, just fair warning it'll be a few days before I can update again, hopefully I don't get stuck again. I still have a plan for this though so bare with me :)**

**P.S. I am so happy that someone caught my Deadpool reference from a few chapters ago! I love that Hawkeye and Deadpool are friends in the comics also Kate's Hawkeye works with him in the comics too. I don't know if I'll actually write him in because that particular brand of crazy is hard to write authentically. It was still a happy reference. **

**P.S. Also the reference to "Tommy" is Thomas Shepherd from the comics who in one iteration dated Kate for a short period of time. I like the idea of Lucky being a decider for whether someone should date Kate or not. **


	26. Chapter 26

**Y'all, I am so sorry this has taken so long. I am struggling with writer's block and I am sure that it is because I am stressed about starting my next semester of school. I picked a difficult profession to take on. I will try to update more soon but no promises. Please have patience with me, I really am trying. **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

A week ago, Kate probably would have blushed to be in the position she was in, lying half on her back, her other side pressed to the sofa and Peter flush against her. However, considering she had almost gotten taken out, most likely by her homicidal oldest brother, Kate's whole body tensed, blood was pounding in her ears as she looked to where they had been standing just moments ago, position forgotten.

Taking one look at Peter's face she saw he was disoriented from the explosion. "Peter, focus." She called gripping his arm. "They're here!" He blinked and shook his head. "Peter, we have to move!"

That seemed to grab his attention and he moved off her.

"Stay low!" She ordered before he could get up too far.

FRIDAY activated the alarm for the others as she thought of a plan. They needed to just get around the bend in the room to the elevator, they would be out of sight from any sniper. She pointed the direction out to him.

"We gotta make a break for it." She said mind going to her bow several floors beneath them. "We need to get downstairs."

The teens shot to their feet and raced for it. Peter grabbed her at one point, stopping her dead so a bullet, not an arrow, passed in front of them and kept moving. They made it to the elevators just as the power cut out and the building went dark.

"Shit." She muttered as emergency lights came on. "Looks like we're taking the stairs. Stay on guard they're gonna try and funnel us in there."

Peter nodded.

They stepped into the stairwell. Looking down was a bad idea. The squared off staircase circling down was enough to make someone dizzy.

"How many floors do we have to go?" He asked.

"Nine." She replied.

The move down started easy but then Kate saw it. The first sign of black gear that she didn't recognize. She motioned for Peter to move back from the railing and stay closer to the wall. They still had five more floors to go.

"Get ready." She breathed out knowing he would hear her. They paused on the stairs and waited.

The first group had five, all wearing ballistics gear, each carrying semi-automatic rifles; when they came into sight Peter used his webs like a slingshot to launch himself across the gap in the stairs and take out the one in the middle forcing two back and two forward.

Kate grabbed one of the rifles aimed at Peter's back, yanking it down and then forcing it back so the butt of the rifle hit the owner in the nose, breaking it and sending him staggering back. She instantly raised the gun and shot the second one on her side of the stairs in the chest knowing the vest would take the shot, but it would stun him. She looked up to see Peter take out the last two and they made quick work of webbing them to the walls.

"I'll take these." She said taking their comms and dropping most down the stairwell but keeping one. "Let's go."

Hearing more footsteps in the stairwell, they decided to just take the quick route down. Wrapping one around around her waist as she put an arm around his shoulders, gripping her new rifle in her other hand, Peter pulled her close and they jumped over the side repelling down on a web quickly. If she hadn't been so focused on the hostiles coming up fast, Kate would have been thrilled by the rush of dropping down.

"Our stop." She called out and Peter swung them, kicking off the railing and bringing them right to the door. She looked at him more than a little impressed. "Good timing."

They exited onto the main training floor and Kate led him to where they kept the weapons.

"Whoa." Peter commenter, eyes of his suit going a little wide as he looked around.

Kate strapped her quiver into place and grabbed a few extra things before picking up her bow. She turned to Peter and opened her mouth to speak but froze hearing someone coming. She notched an arrow and aimed for the doorway and waited, Peter moving out of her eye-line but staying close.

Spotting shadows in the doorway, she drew her bow just a little tighter. She caught sight of a flash of metal and paused in relief as Bucky and Steve came around the corner.

"Oh my god." She muttered as they stopped seeing the teens. She lowered her bow and returned the arrow to her quiver.

"Are you two alright?" Steve asked

"Yeah." Peter said.

Bucky looked at Kate. "Is it just the two of you down here?"

"Yeah." She said. "I'm not sure where Tony or Clint are but they weren't upstairs with us. What about the others?"

"Unclear." Bucky said.

Rhodey, Wanda and Vision were on a critical mission as of two hours ago that couldn't wait so they already lost some of their heaviest hitters, Thor would be harder to contain but it could be done. Natasha still hadn't been able to return from her mission and Sam separated off by himself was in danger. Bruce would most likely be in the lab which would have sealed off so hopefully he was okay.

"Clint might be in the comm room." She said thoughtfully. "Tony might be near the lab if he isn't there already."

"We'll find them." Steve said.

Kate chewed on her lower lip. "We might have another problem." She said.

Both soldiers looked at her.

"I haven't heard FRIDAY since the power went out." She said. "If they fried the system somehow…we need to get FRIDAY back online if we want to stay ahead of them."

Bucky looked at Steve for a second. Steve did not look happy at all.

"Can you get FRIDAY back online?" Steve asked her.

"Probably, but not without Tony." She admitted. "I can fix what they broke but Tony is the only one who can override it and get FRIDAY started again."

Bucky furrowed his brow. "We can split up." He suggested looking at Steve, though he didn't seem particularly happy about the prospect. "You take the spider kid with you to get Stark and tell him what's going on and I'll take Kate to the servers and she can get started."

"You should stop and get Clint first." Steve said. "We don't know how many are here."

Kate shook her head. "They'll be looking for Clint and I to be in the same place." She said. "If you guys can get to him it'll give us time to try and get FRIDAY back online."

It was reluctant but Steve agreed for them to split up. The two soldiers got what they needed while Kate and Peter stood together as they waited, keeping watch for anyone coming.

"Kate." Peter said quietly. "If you're wrong and they're waiting for you…"

"It'll be okay." She said gently resting a hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeat against palm. His hand came up to cover hers "Just find Tony, find my brother and let's get these guys."

"Kate, lets go." Bucky called suddenly.

Kate pulled her hand away and moved to join the Winter Soldier. She handed over Clint's bow and quiver to Steve. She offered one last look over her shoulder before they headed out the door.

…

Peter followed Steve up five floors to one of the residential levels. Walking out, both were tense; they hadn't encountered a single hostile in the stairwell and that was unsettling.

As they paused their heightened hearing picked up the sounds of growling followed by someone swearing.

_Lucky._

Racing down the hall, Steve went through the door to the apartment with Peter right behind him. They entered in time to see Lucky launch forward and grab one hostile's boot, yanking his foot out from under him while Clint incapacitated two before turning a gun on the one Lucky had down.

"You okay?" Steve asked.

Clint nodded, expression grim, grey eyes like steel as they stared at the enemy combatants.

Peter looked from him to Lucky, who was still snarling and snapping at the man on the ground, muzzle stained with blood. The cute fluff ball really did have a bite.

"Lucky, back." Clint ordered.

The dog stepped back as Clint moved forward, his eyes never once leaving the man on the ground.

Clint knelt down drawing a knife similar to the one Peter saw Kate handling a few times.

"Peter, wait outside." Steve said grimly.

Something in the tone of his voice made Peter not argue as he moved back towards the hallway.

"That won't be necessary." The man on the ground spoke in a surprising French accent. "Trickshot wants a word with you." As he spoke the man pulled out a short-range radio like the one Kate had pulled off one of the men in the stairwell earlier.

"Chisholm." Clint said into the radio.

_"Not quite little brother." _A voice replied. Clint's jaw clenched and Lucky snapped at the voice. _"You still have that mutt…" _There was clear disdain in the man's voice before he got back on track. _"This can end simply, just give me what I want, and we'll go." _

"We don't have your goddamn list." Clint growled out.

_"I believe you." _The man replied. _"But at this point what's the list when our baby sister can be so much more useful?"_

Clint and Steve froze; Peter felt his blood run cold.

…

Kate and Bucky paused as they listened to the conversation over her confiscated radio. She knew that Bucky was staring at her, but she couldn't look up and meet his gaze. This was Clint's greatest fear that they would forgo the list and just focus on her, but they also prepared for this.

"We need to keep moving." Bucky said.

She nodded and put the radio away as they moved down the hall. They were almost to the server room but even from the distance they were at in the hallway, they could hear multiple voices.

Calmly, she drew four arrows, notching one. She nodded to Bucky as they reached the door.

He went through first, taking out two with his rifle. She came through the door and instinct took over as she took in the sight of at least a dozen men still on their feet. She fired once, twice, kicking a chair into one guy's legs she fired two arrows at once taking out three, one of her arrows going straight through to get the one behind him.

She didn't have time to marvel at the lucky shot that was as she converted her bow to a staff and knocked out the guy she had tripped up with the chair. Looking over, she saw Bucky, who had incapacitated his opponents, watching her with an expression somewhere between analytical and impressed.

"What?" She asked with a smile.

He just shook his head a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. However, his eyes seemed troubled.

Kate ran over to the computers in the room pushing aside the body that was in the chair while Bucky stood at close as a silent sentinel, watching her back as she worked.

"So, you and the spider kid looked pretty cozy upstairs." Bucky commented after a minute making her falter on her keystrokes. "Is there something going on?"

"Don't we have more important things to worry about right now?" Kate asked as she brought up the communications system on the monitor, trying to get connected with the lab in hopes that Tony is there.

Bucky shrugged; thought he was smiling now at the obvious blush on her face. "The two of you were obviously alone before the attack began…"

"Drop it." She replied, her mind immediately going back to the kiss.

Bucky went back to silence and she focused on the connection, she was so close to getting it working.

"Did he kiss you?"

"Jesus!" Kate cried in frustration to which Bucky outright laughed at. However, she couldn't maintain her frustration hearing the normally silent and brooding soldier actually laugh. She smiled and shook her head with fondness.

After a bit more work the connection went through and she could see the lab on the monitor. "Yes!" She said and quickly keyed the mic. "Hello? Tony? Bruce? Can anyone hear me?"

"Kate." A familiar voice replied.

"Tony, thank god it's you." She said as he appeared on the screen.

The billionaire looked so relieved to see her. "Are you okay? Where is Peter? Is he with you?" He asked.

Kate gave him a quick rundown of the plan. "I need your help. I'm trying to fix FRIDAY."

Tony glanced past her at the room. "Okay, tell me what you see, and I'll walk you through what to do." He said not even stopping to question it.

Before they could begin, a commotion started outside the room causing Kate and Bucky to look up. Bucky raised his rifle and Kate slowly drew an arrow from the quiver.

"What's going on?" Tony asked concern lacing his voice.

Kate couldn't reply as she stared at the door, hearing cries of pain and shouts and gunfire. As the noise died, they raised their weapons, waiting for whatever was coming through the door next.

The door handle turned, and Kate raised her bow, the string pulled back taut as she watched the door swing open. However, seeing the new arrival made her freeze.

Relaxing the drawstring and lowering the weapon as Bucky did, Kate stared with wide eyes. "Oh my god." She whispered.


	27. Chapter 27

**Okay everyone. New chapter. Sorry all, I have been so swamped with school and work (and now I am sick) that I have had no time to write. It's mainly been one project after another that has demanded my attention. **

**I wrote more from Peter's perspective then I have...I'm not sure how it turned out. Anyways, the next chapter is going to be longer, and I hope wrap this up. Depends on how long I actually end up making it. Two chapters at most ****though. **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Peter followed Steve and Clint through the halls silently observing the two as they moved towards the lab. Watching their sharp movements, his thoughts swimming.

_Don't rush to get to the superhero job Pete, it's not all that you think it is._

Kate's words were echoing over and over through his brain. He was fairly certain that Clint had been ready to torture that bad guy upstairs, and he was leaning more towards believing that Steve was going to let him. Yes, technically he understood that Clint was an assassin and had killed people, academically he understood this, but it was something different entirely to see it. And Kate had tried to warn him.

They got to the lab and Tony was already expecting them.

"Kate filled us in that you were on your way. She's got the foundation for rebooting FRIDAY done. I'm finishing the rest from here, should be just a minute." Tony said. He looked at Peter critically, seeming concerned. "You okay kid?"

Peter nodded once, not quite trusting his voice yet.

"Is she still online?" Clint asked.

Tony and Bruce both paused exchanging a look.

Clint narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Right as Kate finished the repair on her end there was some kind of commotion." Bruce said. "She drew an arrow and then the feed disconnected."

Peter tensed and looked at Clint. The look on the archer's face set off every warning bell in his head.

"It doesn't mean that something happened." Tony said. "You know Barnes won't let anything happen to her."

"None of you understand how dangerous these guys are." Clint said grimly.

Peter began to zone out as he listened to them, trying to think of a way that he could go find Kate, when he felt something touch his hand making him jump. He looked down and Lucky was nudging his hand, whining softly. Reaching out as he knelt down, he hugged the dog close and stroked his fur.

_"Barney, are you listening?" _

The group jumped as they heard Kate's voice over the radio speaker. Clint pulled it out of his pocket and set it on the table, everyone crowding close to listen.

_"Hello Katie." _Barney replied.

_"We need to end this." _Kate said. _"With how quickly you're losing men, I'd think you could be reasonable." _

You could practically hear the smirk on Barney's voice. _"I figured you'd be listening earlier. There's only one way to end this." _He said.

Peter looked at Clint who looked confused and concerned. _What was Kate playing at?_

_"Perhaps you'll negotiate for now." _Kate replied.

"What are you doing Kate?" Clint muttered quietly.

_"And what are you offering?" _Barney asked.

There was a brief pause. _"What you originally wanted." _Kate replied. _"I'll give you the list tonight if you take your men and leave," _

Peter watched the myriad of shocked expressions on the faces of the adults.

Steve looked at Clint. "I thought she didn't have it." He said.

"She shouldn't." Clint replied.

There was a long pause on the radio as everyone waited.

_"You were so adamant that you didn't have the list earlier." _Barney said skeptically.

_"Because I didn't have it then." _She replied. _"But we both know I have a talent for finding lost things."_

Lucky whined and tried to move closer to Kate's voice but Peter held him.

_"Alright Katie." _Barney said. _"You have a deal for now. Keep your radio close." _

"It can't be that simple." Peter said as the line went dead.

Clint shook his head. "It's not." He said. "There's no way they walk out of here. If she really has the list, they'll take it, but they won't let Kate stay."

Tony, who had continued to work on the computer while they spoke, suddenly froze. Everyone looked at him curiously as he stared at the screen. "FRIDAY, you up?" He asked.

"Yes boss." The Irish accented AI replied.

Tony grinned and looked up. "We have eyes back." He said. "Where is everyone?"

"Thor, Loki, and Sam have been clearing out the lower levels." FRIDAY replied. "A lot of my cameras have been knocked out on the upper levels."

"Thermal scans working?" Tony asked.

"It would seem so." FRIDAY replied. "I'm showing Miss. Barton and Sgt. Barnes two floors above us."

Peter looked up. _Why did they pass us?_

FRIDAY wasn't done though. "I'm also showing two more heat signatures in the building, nonhostile." Everyone looked up. "And one is approaching the lab."

…

Kate sighed, pushing her fingers into her curls after she set the radio down. "He's not gonna go for it." She said.

_~ Kate notched an arrow and aimed for the door as Bucky raised his gun at her side. They waited as the noise quieted and the door slowly opened. Catching a flash of red, Kate relaxed the bow string, lowering the weapon, but as she saw the second person, she brought it taut again. ~_

"We already knew that." Chisolm said looking at her. "But you agreed to go with this plan, so we just need to draw them out."

Kate looked up at him, eyes narrowed. "You mean I need to draw them out." She corrected. She met his unapologetic gaze and she was again struck with that feeling that something was not the same. This man standing in front of her was very different from the man she remembered when she was a kid. "Why did you give Peter the warning about the attack? Why now?"

"Because they've never been able to get this close before." Chisolm replied. "You both got sloppy, you let your guards down."

Kate bristled. "You're seriously going to criticize after you've been part of the group that's been hunting us?" She demanded.

"I've been one of the reasons they've never gotten close!" Chisolm snapped back.

Kate took a step forward, but Bucky gripped her arm, holding her back. He was watching Chisolm with equally guarded eyes, his posture a warning for the older man to stay back, but his voice was calm as he spoke. "We need to move. We can't stay here." He said.

"He's right." Chisolm said. "We have a lot of work to do before meeting them."

Kate eyed him for another moment before nodding. They didn't have much time. _Hopefully Nat found the others by now._

…

Peter listened with rapt attention as he was given his marching orders. The minute the Black Widow had walked through the doors, she had taken charge. He had seen her calm collection in battle, but when it had come to Kate, every time Natasha Romanoff showed how scary she could be.

As they split up, Peter waited for Tony to show him the schematics of the ventilation system so he could get to Thor, Loki, and Sam while the others got into place. The plan was precise and couldn't afford any missteps. As he waited, he glanced at Clint and Natasha subtly as they stood away from the group.

Clint had his arms around Natasha, and she had placed her hands on his chest, they seemed to be communicating without saying anything and Peter found that he had to look away, it just seemed too private.

"Alright kid." Tony said. "FRIDAY is sending the map to your mask; the suits AI will guide you to Thor."

"Got it." Peter said.

Tony looked up at him. "Kid…"

Peter shook his head. "I know I messed up Mr. Stark and I understand the punishment." He said. "But this is about protecting Kate. I promise I'll follow orders."

Tony nodded after a second. "Good luck kid."

Pulling his mask down, Peter waited for his display to light up and highlight his route. He jumped up into the vent and began making his descent down to the lower levels.

_Just stay safe for now Kate. Please, stay safe. _


	28. Chapter 28

**Another chapter. I won't be writing anymore until next week after my first final. I have two back to back tests, so wish me luck everyone. I just had to get this out while it was eating at my brain.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate winced as she took the band out of her hair so that she could redo the messy bun since some bits of hair had fallen loose. Bucky instantly took notice.

"Are you hurt?" He asked scanning her, looking for blood.

"No." She said. "I'm just have a bruise on my back, just hurt for a second."

Bucky raised an eyebrow.

The minute she mentioned it she realized she shouldn't have unless she wanted to explain the position that she and Peter had landed in earlier when Barney was shooting arrows at them on the top floor. "I'm fine." She said sweeping her hair back up and twisting it into a bun again without any sign of pain. Bucky seemed content with this for now, so she turned her gaze to Chisolm. "Are you sick?"

Chisolm looked back at her. She could see him debating whether or not he was going to lie to her, but in the end, he seemed to settle on the truth. "I have cancer." He said. "They found it a few years ago."

Kate paused, evaluating his expression carefully. "What's the prognosis?" She asked quietly.

Chisolm shrugged. "We'll see how this day goes, okay?" He said.

Kate felt the tug on her heart as she looked at this man. She took a step forward, but Bucky's metal arm came out and blocked her from moving forward. She looked up at the Winter Soldier and his eyes held nothing but suspicion as he stared at Chisolm. She looked at the older man and then back at Bucky, moving a little closer to him. Maybe he was telling the truth, she remembered him as being nothing but nice and honest with her, but she hadn't seen or spoken to the man in a long time, maybe he was playing on that feeling.

Chisolm seemed more amused than anything by watching them. "You're finally learning." He said. "Never let sympathies compromise your judgement."

Kate furrowed her brow but didn't have time to ponder this. They had incoming.

…

Peter knew he was getting close when he could hear Thor taunting the enemies through the vents. He was one floor above them, so he sped up, kicking open the vent and dropping down to see the three that he was sent to find.

There was a room full of baddies, but they all seemed more scared of the irate thunder god than anything so really not much of a threat.

"Hey guys." Peter said as everyone stopped to look at him. Without pausing he immediately began mixing up his webshooter combinations until the baddies were all wrapped up and stuck to the walls. He looked at Thor, Loki, and Sam, who all seemed shocked, if a bit of grudging respect. "Sorry, I don't have a lot of time. Things are going down upstairs. Kate needs help."

…

_Where are they all coming from?_ Kate had given up firing arrows when she saw how many were spilling into the room, converting her bow to a staff as Bucky and Chisolm engaged them in close combat alongside her.

She blocked a knife, twirling her staff to knock it away, she brought it back to connect with the gut of the man trying to come up behind her before planting it in the ground to ground her as she kicked up and connected her foot with the face of another attacker, feeling his nose and probably his cheekbone crunch beneath the bottom of her converse, blood staining the white on her shoe. Bringing her staff back up she connected with one guys balls, doubling him over before she smacked the guy behind him in the temple, knocking him out.

She felt the butt of a rifle connect with her chest before she could block it sending her back, crashing on top of the coffee table which collapsed from the force of her fall. She produced a small arrow and threw it, severing the Achilles tendon of the one who hit her before she flipped back onto her feel bringing her staff down onto his shoulder, breaking it. She kicked him in the chest sending him back into two of the guys coming up.

Running back up the sofa, jumping off the back, she landed in a more open area. It didn't take them long to try to surround her again.

Block, strike, block, strike, this pattern continued until she felt a strike connect with the back of her left knee causing it to buckle and she dropped, someone knocking her staff out of her hand. Drawing her knife, she stabbed it through one guy's foot, kicking up into one's jaw, ripping out the knife and rolling away before another could connect his rifle with her head.

A hand grabbed her arm and dragged her back and up to her feet as she saw a metal arm block an incoming strike. She moved so she was standing with Bucky and Chisolm facing the still very large crowd. Bucky spun his knife in his hand, Kate took her fallen staff that Chisolm handed her converting it back and notching two arrows in one motion, and Chisolm raised his own bow.

"Just give us the girl." One of the masked men said. "She's not worth dying over."

"I disagree."

Kate's heart leapt as she heard the voice, looking beyond the group to see Clint standing with Natasha and Steve. "Nice timing." She said.

Clint drew two arrows, Natasha raised her batons, electricity crackling through them and Steve gripped his shield, however, before the fight could even resume a roar echoed through the room. Kate felt a shiver go up her spine as she recognized the sound.

"Now look what you've done." Kate said as she watched the mercs look around with fear. "You've gone and angered the good doctor."

She watched the wall crash in from the opposite side and she stared with wide eyes at the Hulk in all his angry glory.

"Now," Clint quipped, grinning as he watched their enemies shake. "Who's dying?"

…

Peter and Sam paused as they approached the lounge room, three two floors below the top level. The doorway and wall were smashed in, the dust still not settled, but there was no commotion coming from inside. Thor and Loki had split off to get into position and thankfully there hadn't been any opposition on the way back up.

Going through the opening, they took in the sight of at least three dozen mercs either lying around the room. Hulk was standing by the window (which was amazing because Peter hadn't actually seen him in person yet), Bucky and Steve were conversing quietly and there was the guy from the roof that Natasha had called Chisolm, but Peter's eyes focused on Kate, who was currently sandwiched between the two assassins.

Kate had her arms wrapped around her brother, Natasha's arms were wrapped around her and Clint, and Clint had his arms wrapped around the both of them. It was a really rare moment that wasn't just the teasing and playfulness that he was used to seeing from the three.

"This is all very touching, but we need to get moving." Chisolm spoke gruffly, cutting into the moment.

Clint's arms dropped and he moved around the girls, his eyes reflecting murder. "I'm still thinking on sending you through that window, don't push your luck." He said.

Chisolm seemed unconcerned. "You still don't have what it takes to take me on kid." He said getting in Clint's face.

"Stop it." Kate said stepping forward, but Natasha held her back.

Clint's fingers twitched around his bow. "I don't know if you're really dying or if it's bullshit, but your sudden growth of a conscious doesn't change anything over the last ten years." He growled. "That doesn't go unanswered."

"Clint." Steve said firmly, voice breaking through the tension in the air. "No isn't the time. The real target is still out there."

Clint stepped back, nodding stiffly.

Sam cleared his throat, drawing attention to the two of them. "Well, this is all exciting, but what the hell do we do now?" He asked.

"We have to get ready before Barney radios Kate again." Steve said. "Where are Thor and Loki?"

"Should be in position." Sam said.

Peter walked over to Kate who wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. He returned it, too relieved that she was okay to notice the way most of the people in the room looked them.

Steve touch a hand to the comm in his ear. "Stark, are you ready?"

Just as he asked, the comm that Kate was carrying buzzed signaling someone on the other line. _"What an exciting day this has been."_ This voice was different from the one that Kate had called Barney.

Peter felt Kate stiffen in his arms. The muscles in Clint's jaw twitched at the voice; Chisolm just looked resigned.

The man on the radio continued, a dangerous undertone to his voice. _"It's been a very long time Clint, Katherine." _


	29. Chapter 29

**New Chapter. I will post a note at the end. **

**(PLEASE READ THE NOTE AT THE END. I HAVE A POLL GOING AND NEED INPUT)**

* * *

Kate stood quietly in the elevator as it moved to the top floor, fiddling nervously with her bracelet on her left wrist. She looked to her left at Clint who was standing silently at her side. She reached out tentatively and slid her hand into his.

Clint looked up, their like blue-grey eyes meeting, and his hand closed tightly around hers.

_~ "It's been a very long time Clint, Katherine."_

_Clint held out his hand to Kate who handed over the radio. "Not long enough." He replied into the radio. "It's time we end this, DuQuesne."_

_"I agree." The Swordsman replied. "See unlike your brother I think that Katherine will be more trouble than she would be worth. All I want is the list."_

_Kate looked up at Clint, still wrapped safely in Peter's arms. He signed her a quick question —do you actually have it? — She nodded somberly. _

_"You and Katherine come up to the top level alone and unarmed." DuQuesne said. "Bring the list and I will draw back my men."_

_Clint grimaced slightly but brought the radio up. "Deal." ~_

Kate tensed as the elevator came to a stop.

"Stay close to me." Clint instructed quietly as the doors opened.

He let go of her hand and they walked together blinking against the setting sun that illuminated the room. About thirty mercs lined the room, and Kate saw Barney was standing along the far wall watching them. As they walked around the small bend in the room, they saw a figure silhouetted by the sun.

"Hello Clint." DuQuesne spoke.

Kate felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck as she turned her gaze away from Barney and looked at the man at the window. She felt like she was locked in a room with a tiger, and she could actually make that comparison.

"Katherine." She hissed silently as he addressed her. "You've grown into a beautiful young woman. You look so much like your mother."

"Fantastic." Kate muttered. "Let's just get this over with."

DuQuesne seemed amused by this. "Looks like you've picked up a few traits from your brother." He commented as he looked at Clint. "You never did have any respect for authority."

_"We need a few more minutes." _Steve spoke calmly.

"Let's move this, along shall we?" Clint said calmly. "Draw your men back."

DuQuesne smiled. "Show me the list first." He replied.

Kate held up a flash drive. She set it in a nearby projection table and brought up a fraction of the list. It was extensive.

"Impressive." DuQuesne said quietly.

Kate pulled the drive away and held it up. "There's your proof. Now pull back your men." She said.

With all that she knew about DuQuesne, she wasn't even surprised when she heard the simple reply of, "No." before twenty odd weapons were trained upon the superhero siblings, including Barney's.

"Why do we always have to do this the hard way?" Clint asked seeming bored.

The siblings moved together, standing back to back they braced for the fight.

"Some things never change." Kate commented.

DuQuesne shrugged. "I may not want to deal with you but H.Y.D.R.A. still does." He commented.

Kate felt her heart stop for a moment.

"They're willing to pay quiet the price for you to be brought in alive." DuQuesne continued. His expression darkened. "Though make no mistake the price is still high for you dead."

Kate smiled. "I'd like to see you try." She remarked.

DuQuesne smirked. "Take them." He ordered.

…

Peter felt his heart jump into his throat when he heard DuQuesne say to take them. He inched closer to the edge of the roof wanting to jump in.

"Easy kid." Tony said. If Peter really strained his ears, he could hear the sounds of gunfire in the background of the comms while the Hulk roared in anger.

_This is historical. We have to be the ones to end it. _

Kate's voice played in his head. "I don't like being up here while they're down there." Peter said anxiously.

Tony sighed quietly. "I know." He said. "Me either."

…

Kate dodged to the side and ran forward. She jumped up, kicking off the chest of a merc to push herself over the group to avoid getting surrounded. Rolling onto her feet, she immediately stumbled back to avoid Barney who took a swipe at her with his bow. "You don't have to do this." She said stepping back towards the balcony.

Barney didn't reply as he moved forward.

"You were out of this life once." She said. "We got out and stayed out, so can you."

She glanced to the side to see that Clint was still okay, but Barney took advantage of her taking her eyes off him for a second to step forward and land a solid kick to her chest, knocking her onto her back, half outside on the balcony now. Drawing an arrow and firing within half a second of hitting the ground, the resulting flashbang forcing him to step back enough to give her time to flip back onto her feet.

_We got the last of them. _

Clint had maneuvered so he was closer to Kate as they both heard Sam over their comms.

"Alright, this is enough." Clint said. "We're taking you both in. It's over."

DuQuesne seemed amused. "And how do you think you're going to do that?" He asked. "We still have the building surrounded."

"No." Clint said. "You don't."

Kate watched as the faceless mercs slowly faded out of existence in a familiar green glow leaving only DuQuesne, Barney and about ten mercs behind. "We needed a little time to round up the rest of your cronies but having a sorcerer on your side really helps when you need a distraction." She said looking over with a smile as she saw Loki leaning calmly against the shelves towards the far end of the room.

"It's over." Clint said sounding weary. "Just surrender. This doesn't have to end with blood."

Kate felt a presence behind her and glanced back to see Natasha and Chisolm on the balcony. She looked forward seeing Steve and Bucky exit the elevator.

"Please, don't make this any harder." Kate said feeling as tired as Clint was. "Just surrender."

Of course, it couldn't be that easy.

Kate hadn't even seen him move, but DuQuesne set off some kind of flash bang that blinded the room briefly. She felt more than saw Chisolm move past her to tangle with someone, she could hear the sounds of fighting in the room, but as the spots cleared from her vision, it was too late as DuQuesne was in front of her. She tried to jump back but he grabbed her arm and suddenly she was in between Clint and DuQuesne.

"I would think twice." DuQuesne said to Clint who had his bow drawn taut. "Do you really trust your aim enough to put your sister at risk."

Clint was calm, his bow remained raised. She knew his aim was good enough, but she saw the doubt in his eyes.

"He can't get the list." Kate said, wincing as DuQuesne increased the pressure on her shoulder. "It's either this or H.Y.D.R.A. Clint, take the shot!"

"Lower it, or I snap her neck." DuQuesne ordered.

Kate sighed. "Why do people always say that?" She said in annoyance. "Then you'd have no hostage."

Clint gave her a look of disbelief. "Really Kate?" He commented.

Kate rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying." She said.

"Enough!" DuQuesne said.

Wincing as his grip tightened again, Kate clenched her teeth. "I agree." She replied and closed her fist, activating the widow's bite she had on left wrist electrocuting DuQuesne.

However, the one thing she didn't count on was how close they were to the actual edge of the balcony and when he pushed her away to break the connection for the electric current, her foot caught on the slight raised edge and she felt nothingness follow.

It was almost like slow motion as she saw the horror on each of her family and friends faces, counting her own heartbeats pounding in her ears, before she was falling beyond their sight. A quick scream escaped her lungs before the rushing wind cut it off and she watched her reflection in the glass windows of the building as she fell. However, with seeing her own reflection, she also watched the blur of red and blue rushing towards her on an intercept path.

She felt solid muscle collide against her, knocking more air from her lungs as an arm wrapped firmly around her and she was now swinging in the opposite direction.

That slow motion feeling hit her again as she turned to look into the eyes of the mask. "I got you!" Peter's voice was in her ear. Her arms tightened around his shoulders as she buried her face into the side of his neck for a second, shielding her face from the rushing wind.

It took a brief second for them to slingshot back up to the balcony and they moment ended as she let go, Peter releasing her to land back on the balcony. As she was dropping down, she took in the sight of Clint fighting DuQuesne, Chisolm and Natasha facing Barney, and the others were taking out the last of the mercs. Rolling forward out of the fall, she pulled her knife and drove it through the back of DuQuesne's knee causing him to roar out in anger, falling backwards. She yanked the knife, backing up.

"Kate, look out!"

Natasha's call grabbed her attention, spinning around she saw Barney with a gun aimed at her. The shot rang out, but Kate never felt a hit as she was shoved out of the way.

Hitting the steel and concrete, Kate looked up to see Natasha and Bucky subdue Barney as Steve had joined Clint with DuQuesne. Peter and Loki were with the rest of the mercs, their gaze focused on her, but her eyes landed in horror on Chisolm, who was laying on the ground, crimson blood pooling around him.

"Oh no." She said and hurried back to her feet, moving over to him. "Hey, hold on, stay awake."

She vaguely heard Steve tell Clint to "go" and after a second he knelt down on Chisolm's other side. Even as he reached out to feel for a pulse, Kate knew that he was gone.

…

"Peter, you're a good kid and you're a smart kid..." Principal Morita was saying. "...so just try to keep your head straight, okay?"

Peter nodded. "Okay." He said quietly.

"All right, get out of here." Morita said.

Gathering his backpack, Peter stood up and exited the office where Ned was waiting for him.

"Are you expelled?" Ned asked. "Do you have to go to that high school where the principal has a crossbow?"

"Pretty sure that's an urban myth." Peter said lightly. "And, no, I'm not expelled."

Ned sighed in relief. "You're so lucky." He said.

Peter wasn't sure that lucky was the word he would have chosen.

As they got to Peter's locker, Ned looked around. "I wonder where Kate is." He commented. "She's been gone for over a week."

Peter paused at the words. "Umm…I texted her last night, she's been busy with…family stuff." He said.

Pausing, letting that answer sit for a minute, Ned looked up. "Any idea when she's coming back?" He asked.

Closing his locker, Peter just shook his head.

…

Kate stared out the window of the chopper at the rioting ocean below. The storm was bad, but Stark designed a very good automated chopper and it navigated the storm well. She watched a bolt of lightning crack through the clouds.

_~ The gentle wind blew across the Iowa farm, cooling the area despite the warm sun shining down. It was a peaceful kind of day that was especially welcome after the craziness of the past couple months._

_Kate stared at the modest grave on the border of trees just at the edge of their Iowa farm where they had buried Chisolm. There was no name on the headstone, it wasn't like there was anyone to remember him except for herself and Clint anyway, but she had planted flowers in the freshly dug soil so that it would always be beautiful._

_Clint walked up and joined her at the grave, both standing quietly for a moment. They had chosen to come back to the farm, just the two of them._

_"Bruce called, he said that the cancer had completely metastasized." Clint said quietly. "He wouldn't have lived more than six months."_

_"He really was sick." Kate said softly._

_Clint put an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him. "He died a hero." ~_

Their steps echoed through the metal hallways of the Raft as they were escorted to the holding cells. As they entered a room lined with cells, Kate watched Clint's eyes move over to an empty cell. She vaguely wondered if that was where he had been held while he was here.

"Look who it is."

The two turned to the mocking voice, seeing Barney lounging on the cot watching them. As they moved closer, Barney swung his legs over the edge and stood to approach the plexiglass front of the cell.

"Come to gloat?" Barney asked with sarcastic smirk.

"No." Clint said grimly. "It didn't have to be this way Barney."

Barney shook his head. "You both haven't learned." He said. "This—" He gestured around him. "This isn't enough to stop what is coming."

"And what is coming?" Kate asked tilting her head to the side.

Barney looked at her. "All you had to do was give up the list before you drew any more attention." He said.

"You really expect me to believe that?" She asked. She let a tiny bit of her frustration slip out. "All you had to do was stay clean from this."

Barney turned slightly to face her. "Like you guys did, right?" He asked mockingly. "Look at everything that has happened over the last ten years little sister. You really believe that you're "out" of this life?"

Kate gazed into her oldest brother's eyes and she tried, but she couldn't see anything left of the man that he was but there was something that rang true in his words that made both her and Clint tense.

Pushing her unease away, her eyebrows knit together. "What do you plan to accomplish?" She asked. "It's not like you or DuQuesne will be running things from here."

Barney looked amused. "What makes you think we were running it at all?" He asked.

"It's over Barney." Clint said, getting annoyed with this circle. "Just tell us where to find your employers, for the list and for H.Y.D.R.A. and we can work out getting you a deal."

Barney's gaze darkened. "It won't be over until I've killed both of you." He said, voice low, dangerous. "Don't ever forget this."

Kate spoke quietly. "I won't forget."

The weight of those words echoed around the siblings.

Clint put a gentle hand against her back and looked at Barney. "Goodbye Barney." He said. He put pressure into his touch to make her move. He put his arm around her shoulders as they moved into the hall. "Put your hands in your pockets." He said in a quiet voice. She looked down and saw her hands were shaking, she shoved them into her jacket pockets, clenching them tightly. Clint's eyes were sad. "It gets easier."

…

Kate walked down the hall at Midtown towards her locker on Monday, head still in a bit of a fog. Clint had brought her to school early that morning and they had spoken to Principal Morita, explaining that the "family issue" had been resolved and there shouldn't be any further absences from school.

Considering her bow was officially on retirement for now, other than just gym exercise, that wasn't a lie.

Putting her books into her locker, she sighed quietly. Kids were just starting to file in, and the noise level was picking up. Straightening her shoulders, Kate turned and looked for the face that she really wanted to see.

After Betty stopped and said welcome back briefly with condolences (everyone had been told there was a death in her family) Kate finally spotted a mop of brown hair in the crowd. Suddenly, she was nervous. Tony had still taken away Peter's suit, despite his work in helping the at the Tower, he had still inadvertently caused the damage at the ferry and the adults had all made the decision that neither of the two teens should be drawing this much attention so they were benched indefinitely. They hadn't really talked since the Tower since she and Clint had jetted away almost immediately. She wasn't even sure if he would want to see her.

However, the minute Peter looked up and spotted her, every fear was wiped away as he all but ran over to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. Her arms wrapped around him, hugging him back just as fiercely, letting herself lean against him, hiding her eyes for a long moment. Thankfully, no one took a second look thinking that Peter was just comforting her.

"I'm so glad you're back." Peter whispered quietly so only she could hear.

She sniffed a little and turned just enough to whisper out. "Me too."

* * *

**Whew! That was a long chapter. It took me a while. Anyways, I have one more chapter to wrap up the last plot point with the stuff from Homecoming (cause Peter has to get his suit back obviously) but I am debating whether or not to end it there or keep going. Let me know what you guys think!**

**As always please review! **


	30. Chapter 30

**Hi all! So, apparently I had way too much fun writing. When I realized I was on page 8 for the new chapter, I figured I needed to break it up. Therefore, this is not the last chapter but fun things still happen. I decided to release this since I finished a big school project! Enjoy! **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

"Okay." Peter said with the utmost seriousness. "Are you ready to try this?"

Kate let out a breath and nodded. "I think so." She said.

"Do you remember what to do?" He asked.

"I should feel insulted by that." She replied with a roll of her eyes.

Peter grinned and held out his hand as Ned watched them. Kate mirrored Peter as they performed the complicated handshake that he and Ned had come up with. As it ended, Ned cheered and both Kate and Peter smiled.

"You are officially one of us." Ned said.

"You're both such dorks." Kate laughed shaking her head. "But you're my dorks." She smiled at them affectionately. "Now come on, this Death Star isn't going to build itself."

They were sitting in Peter's bedroom just hanging out. Peter had finished his detention for the day, and Kate didn't have to be back at the Tower for a few hours, so she and Ned had waited for Peter before the three went back to his apartment. May was still at work so they had the place to themselves. Things were definitely nowhere close to normal again, but it was getting there.

"So, Ned, did you decide who you are going to ask out for Homecoming?" Kate asked as she assembled her given section of the Death Star LEGO set.

"No." Ned looked nervous. "I don't think I'm going to ask anyone."

"Why?" Kate said looking up. "I know Betty would definitely say yes if you asked her." This was true, Betty had recently been hinting that she was interested in Ned.

Ned shuffled, a blush forming on his face. "I thought we were all going as a group?" He said.

"We are." Peter said. "But that didn't change when you thought I was going to ask out Liz."

Though Ned knew that Peter had his suit taken away because of the ferry incident, neither Peter nor Kate had told Ned what happened at the Tower last week, including the kiss. They hadn't elaborated on their current relationship status because they still hadn't had time to talk about it, but while Kate had been gone Peter had made it clear to Ned that he wasn't interested in Liz anymore.

They put the last pieces together and Ned handed Kate the little Emperor Palpatine to put on top of the structure. After that, they moved out to the living room to watch a movie.

Ned got a text from his mom asking him to pick up something from the store on his way home, so he had to leave, and that left Kate and Peter alone to finish watching the movie. It was the first Hobbit movie, so captivating as it was, it was long, and there was a lot that had been unsaid between Peter and Kate.

"I know that we didn't get to really talk after the Tower." Kate said softly, fiddling with a loose string on one of the pillows on the sofa. "And I understand if you don't want to go to Homecoming anymore—"

Peter's head snapped in her direction. "Kate—"

"I mean, adrenalin was going, we both thought I was leaving…" Kate continued still not looking at him.

"Kate—"

"I almost fell to my death—"

In a move mirroring what she had done to him, Peter reached out and (mindful of his strength) turned her to face him, capturing her lips with his own. It took only half a second for her to melt into him, her head tilting back a little to make the kiss easier.

…

Peter's heart sped up as she leaned into him, hands sliding up his chest as he gripped her waist gently with one hand, the other tangling in the hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her closer. When air became necessary for both of them, he pulled back slightly.

"I meant everything I said." Peter spoke quietly. "And if you still want to go with me to Homecoming then there isn't anything else stopping us."

The smile that Kate gave him was breathtaking and he couldn't resist closing the distance between them to kiss her again. The sound of the lock on the door clicking was the only thing that caused them to break apart again.

Before May had even turned the doorknob, Kate had moved to put a little bit of space between them and was casually leaning her arm against the back of the sofa, legs curled beneath her like nothing out of the ordinary.

"Oh, hi Kate." May said with a bright smiling seeing the teen. "I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah, Ned and I came over to watch a movie." Kate said easily. "You just missed him."

May nodded as she set a bag of groceries on the counter.

"You need any help?" Peter asked tilting his head back to look at her.

"No, I got it." May said.

May put food in the crockpot (a recipe that Kate had given her) and went to take a shower while Peter and Kate finished the movie. After a little bit, Kate scooted closer so she could rest her head on Peter's shoulder.

Glancing down, he could see her eyes already starting to close. He could only imagine how tired she was. He rested his cheek against the top of her head, feeling his own eyes drooping closed.

…

Kate stirred awake feeling warmer than normal. Thinking that Lucky had fallen asleep on the bed, she started to shift but then froze realizing she was not in her bed and someone had their arms wrapped around her.

Looking up, she paused seeing Peter asleep on the sofa (his sofa), his arms casually closed around her. At some point their had shifted so they were both laying down, Kate wedged between Peter and the back of the couch, head resting on his chest. Someone had placed the blanket from the back of the couch over them.

Freezing, two realizations hit her at the same moment. 1) May must have covered them up which means she saw them laying in this quite intimate way, and 2) it was well past the time that she was supposed to be back at the Tower.

Carefully, Kate grabbed her phone from her back pocket and looked to see her messages. There was just one from Natasha.

May texted and said you were asleep. Call if you need a ride. – N

Feeling relieved, Kate put her phone away and just stayed in the quiet of the dark living room. As much as she knew she should move and head back to the Tower, just listening to the steady rhythm of Peter's heart and the quiet of the apartment, she found she really didn't want to. It was surprising to her how safe she felt here, and she really didn't want that feeling to end.

It was around 1am, so the trains would be full of weirdos at this point and she wasn't going to make Clint or Natasha come get her this late, so it wasn't hard to talk herself into just letting her eyes drift closed again, curling a little closer into Peter's arms.

…

Kate was sitting on the floor in the living area Saturday night, the contents of her backpack spread out on the coffee table. She was throwing out items that she didn't need, and she was repacking it before school while half listening to the movie that the others were watching.

Only Sam, Wanda, Vision, Bruce, and Tony were in the Tower tonight. Thor and Loki went home for a couple weeks, Rhodes was on a mission, Steve and Bucky were in DC, and Clint and Natasha were out on a date tonight.

Tony walked in holding a cup of coffee, talking on the phone. It sounded like he was talking to Pepper. "Okay, I will take care of it…when have I ever messed that up? Okay, okay!" Tony said. "I love you too."

Hanging up, Tony sat down with a sigh. He looked up. "Kate, how would you like to play an actual intern tomorrow afternoon?" He asked.

Kate looked up curiously. "Why?" She asked.

"Because I have two meetings tomorrow and I need an assistant." Tony replied.

Kate thought about it. "Okay." She said with a shrug. "But it will cost you."

The billionaire looked at her suspiciously. "Cost me what?"

"A car of my choice Saturday night." She replied. "It's homecoming at school."

Tony's eyes lit up and he smiled. "I can do that." He said. "Just not one of the vintage models."

"Deal." She replied and went back to organizing her backpack.

"So, who are you going with?" Tony asked after a minute.

Kate looked up at Tony but could see heads turn out of her peripheral. "It's gonna be a group going. You know I'm pretty sure the whole school will be there." She commented lightly.

Tony raised an eyebrow, grinning at her diversion. "And were you asked by anyone to the dance?" He asked.

"Yes, by a couple people actually." She had 12 offers since she had gotten back.

"And what have you said to these offers?" Sam asked looking over.

Kate put the last of her small items into her backpack. "I broke many hearts this last week." She replied coyly.

"But many is not all of them." Tony said having caught on a long time ago to the way she talked when she wanted to hide something.

Kate shrugged and stood. "I'm gonna go to bed." She said. "Gotta get some sleep if I'm going to be a good assistant tomorrow."

She left them quickly and went back to her floor. Lucky looked up from his spot by the balcony and thumped his tail lazily on the floor. "Come on boy." She called. "Let's go to bed."

Getting up, he raced ahead of her and jumped up onto her bed, tail wagging in 5th gear.

Kate giggled and crawled under the covers and getting comfy. She pulled out her phone as Lucky curled up in a ball at her side while she idly rubbed his ears. There was a text waiting for her.

Sleep well — P

She smiled at the simple gesture and texted her reply quickly before setting her phone down and rolling onto her side, falling asleep quickly.

Waking up to her alarm, Kate sat up and stretched. It was only 0400, or so her clock flashed at her, but she had to get in her workout early because she was just too busy later in the day. Lucky was up with her, bouncing and happy as a clam. Rolling her eyes, she went to get dressed.

As she exited the bedroom, she saw Natasha was already up in her workout clothes.

"Good morning." Kate said brightly.

Natasha smiled as Lucky ran around them. "I thought I would join you on your run this morning." She said.

Kate nodded though that set off a sense of foreboding in her head. Clint and Natasha normally didn't get up early, at least not this early, if they didn't have to. Especially, considering they had gotten back really late last night.

Grabbing Lucky's leash, she attached it to his collar, and they headed to the elevator. Kate had just planned on running in the gym this morning, but since Natasha was coming with her, they decided on going out for a run instead.

Central Park seemed to be the place that Kate ended up a lot. She liked all the trees, it reminded her of one of her favorite places from when she was little and traveling around with Clint. It was also peaceful this early in the morning as she and Natasha slowed to a walk, Lucky trotting beside her easily.

"I wanted to ask you this before Clint got involved." Natasha asked getting straight to the point. "How serious are things between you and Peter?"

Though she shouldn't have been surprised by the question, it still made Kate pause. She hadn't said anything about even liking Peter to anyone, and really, they had kissed a few times and were going to homecoming together but what does that equal to as far as seriousness goes?

Natasha pulled out her phone. "May sent me this the other night." She said.

Kate looked at the photo. She was resting her head on Peter's shoulder, his cheek was against the top of her head and they were both asleep, half sitting up. It was nowhere close to the position they had ended up in later on, but it was still closer than anyone had really seen them. "We were just really tired." She said honestly.

"I know." Natasha said nodding. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"Honestly, I don't know how to answer your question." Kate said. "Peter did ask me to homecoming, even though we are going as a group…and I really want to go."

Natasha nodded. "Just don't rush into too many experiences okay." She said carefully.

Kate nodded understanding. "I promise." She said.

Natasha pulled her into a tight hug, and they started heading back to the Tower.

Letting Lucky off his leashed once they were inside, Kate went to take a shower and start getting ready for the meeting. When she came out, toweling her hair dry, she heard voices. Inching closer to the door, she listened quietly.

"She's fifteen." Clint complained. "She's too young to have a boyfriend."

"It's one date and it's in a group at that." Natasha said replied.

There was a pause. "I don't like the kid." Clint replied.

Kate suppressed a laugh at the petulant tone he had adopted.

"No, you don't like that Kate is interested in a boy." Natasha replied. "Besides of all the guys that she could possibly have picked out there, are you really going to complain about it being someone as sweet as Peter?"

Kate didn't see it, but she could picture her brother's expression as he just grunted in acknowledgement. Grabbing her pre-picked outfit, she went back into her bathroom to get ready. She pulled on the black dress with a white edge to the skirt, a black blazer and paired it with black heeled booties. She straightened her hair out and tied it into a fishtail braid that draped over her left shoulder. She walked out seeing Clint and Natasha sitting on the sofa drinking coffee.

"You look nice." Natasha said.

"Thanks." Kate said giving them both a hug. "I'll be back in a little while."

"Hold on one second." Clint started to say as she walked to the elevator.

Kate looked back. "I have to go chase Tony out of the lab or he'll be late for the meeting." She said.

Clint started to say something, but Natasha spoke over him. "Have a good day." She said. "We'll see you when you get back."

Sending her a grateful smile, Kate waved and got into the elevator. It didn't take her long to find Tony and in typical fashion, he had not been watching the time and was not ready for the meeting.

After a brief argument that involved threatening to call Pepper, Kate had successfully chased him out of the lab to get ready and she went down to the lobby to fetch the ones coming for the meeting after FRIDAY informed her of their arrival.

Scanning the already busy lobby, she spotted the one she was looking for quickly, having memorized the face this morning. She walked forward, putting on a polite smile.

"Mr. Osborn?" She asked politely.

Norman Osborn turned and smiled. "Yes." He acknowledged, shaking hands with her. Kate was somewhat surprised to see a teenage boy standing with him, but it was quickly clarified. "And this is my son Harry."

Kate nodded a polite greeting, clasping her hands in front of her. "My name is Kate, I'm one of the interns at Stark Industries." She said. "If you'll come with me, Mr. Stark is waiting."

They followed her to the elevator, and she keyed in for the business conference floor.

"How long have you worked here Kate?" Mr. Osborn asked.

"Only a few months." Kate replied lightly. "It's just after school work."

"And where do you go to school at?" Mr. Osborn continued.

"Midtown Science." Kate said.

Mr. Osborn smiled. "Wonderful." He said. "I hear they have an exceptional program."

Kate nodded. "They do." She agreed.

"I considered sending Harry there last year but decided against it." Mr. Osborn said. "He goes to private school."

She recognized the name of the school he mentioned, it was one of the schools that was on the list after Midtown when Tony brought the idea to Clint, however, as she listened, Kate felt a little bad for Harry. The poor kid was already quiet, face hidden under a mop of black hair as he stared at the ground, and his ears turned red the minute his father mentioned him. He had no interest in being there. As he glanced up briefly, she caught his eye and gave him a kind smile.

Once they arrived on the proper floor, she led them down a long hallway to the biggest conference room that had the best view of the New York skyline without being at the top of the building.

If she was honest, she was expecting Tony to not be there, but as soon as she opened the door she saw him standing at the floor to ceiling windows, dressed in impress and not remotely showing that he had been up for the last twenty four hours in the lab.

"Ah, hello Norman." Tony said walking forward to shake the other man's hand. "And, Harry. Glad you could make it as well."

Kate stood back and watched as they interacted. She was curious about the man who owned the company that manufactured the spider that had given Peter his abilities, but so far, he seemed like any other guy.

I wonder if Peter told Tony where the spider came from?

As the meeting began, Kate learned the reason for it. Tony was taking offers for people to buy the Tower. And apparently it had been in the works for a while now.

Once the meeting was over another assistant came to take Norman and Harry back to the lobby. Harry cast a brief look over his shoulder before they left the room.

Kate turned to look at Tony. "When was this decided?" She asked.

"It's been in the works for a while." Tony said. "But after the most recent attack on the Tower we all agreed to move everything back to the compound."

Kate chewed on her lower lip, but she didn't have time for further questions as the door opened. She looked up with a practiced smile on her face as an assistant lead a man and woman through the door.

Tony seemed happier by their presence. "Reed, Sue, glad you could make it." He said.


	31. Chapter 31

**New chapter. I noticed some formatting issues but it won't let me fix them for some reason, so please ignore them if you see them. One-maybe two-more chapters. I'm normally not this off on my chapter count.**

**I have decided on a sequel though. So there is that. It won't be up until I finish Iron Maiden though. I've put that off for way too long.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Peter was sitting outside on the bleachers during lunch period. He had been feeling off today, his senses dialed up and it had been giving him a headache, thankfully, right now the only noises were the distant sound of the train and regular New York traffic.

As he sat there, eyes closed, he suddenly felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder. He startled, eyes opening in surprise, but he calmed quickly seeing Kate smiling at him. She really could move quietly when she wanted to.

"Hey." He said relaxing, trying to smile but the pain behind his eyes was making it hard to keep them open.

"Hi." She replied and took a seat next to him, scooting a little closer. Her voice was softened, obviously aware that he was in pain right now. "What's going on?"

"Its just…Monday I guess." He replied rubbing his temple.

Kate nodded. Suddenly she stood up. "I wanna try something." She said stepping up the bleachers and sitting directly behind him.

She used her thumbs to gently apply pressure to the back and sides of his neck, massaging the tense muscles. It didn't take long for Peter to turn to putty in her hands as she extended out, rubbing his shoulders and his back.

"That feels amazing." He praised, closing his eyes but in relief this time instead of pain.

He started to doze off and he felt himself sway a little but then he felt gentle hands guide him back until he was leaning back against Kate, her knees on either side of his ribs and her arms wrapped loosely around his shoulders.

"We should head back inside." Peter said half heartedly, knowing lunch was almost up.

"We have time." She replied softly, carding her fingers through his hair, pulling him further towards sleep. "Just rest, I'll wake you when we have to head back in."

Too soon she was waking him but when he opened his eyes, he braced for his headache to return but was shocked when he found himself able to focus again. He looked back at her with wide eyes and she giggled, her eyes catching the sunlight again creating a prism of colors.

"You're amazing," He said kissing her quickly.

She returned the kiss but pulled away too soon. "As much as I like being told that, we have to go, or we'll get into trouble." She told him.

He stood up and pulled her to her feet, holding her hand as they walked back to the main building. After their moment in his apartment they had told Ned that they were dating but no one else knew. Ned had just responded with 'finally!' and that had been the end of it.

The two had 30 seconds to get to class or they'd miss the bell, so they raced through the halls just barely slipping inside the workshop and getting to their table when the bell rang. They breathed a sigh of relief as Ned looked at them suspiciously.

"Where have you two been?" He asked.

"Peter fell asleep and I went to find him." Kate replied. Which was honest just out of order.

Ned just shrugged, letting it drop. "So why did Iron Man sell the Tower?" He asked abruptly.

Peter's head snapped up and Kate froze. "What?" He asked looking at Kate.

She gave him a pleading look for them to talk about it after class.

"Yeah, it's been all over the news today." Ned continued on, not really paying attention to their silent conversation as he fiddled with a screwdriver. "It's too bad. It was so cool knowing that the Avengers were like right there."

"We'll talk once school is over." Kate breathed so silently Peter had to strain to hear her voice. He nodded.

…

As soon as the final bell rang Peter and Kate said bye to Ned and they jetted out. When they were a safe distance away Peter looked at her.

"Are you leaving again?" He asked.

"No." Kate said quickly. "Actually, I'll be moving closer. However, everything else is being moved back to the compound."

Peter furrowed his brow and looked thoughtful.

"I was going to tell you about it today." Kate continued. "I only found out about it yesterday, but I didn't know that Tony was going to make the announcement today." She was relieved that he had decided to sell it to Reed Richards instead of Osborn; it was going to become the new headquarters for the Baxter Foundation.

Kate looked at Peter who still looked deep in thought. "What is it?"

Peter looked up. "All of the equipment is going to be moving out to the compound." He said slowly.

"You're thinking about the Vulture guy?" She asked after a second.

Nodding, he sighed. "We never did catch him." He said.

"Look, I'll bring the concern up to Tony." Kate said. "But you heard what they said. The team doesn't want us anywhere near the superhero stuff, at least not for a long time."

"I know." Peter said. He offered a half smile. "I guess it's just hard to turn off that side of my brain."

Kate smiled. "I know exactly what you mean." She said. She shyly reached out her hand and smiled brighter when he took it without hesitation. He smiled back. "On an unrelated note, you're going to have to talk to my brother before we go to homecoming."

…

Friday night Kate sat on her bed with Lucky lying beside her, head resting on her knee as she rubbed his ears. They had almost everything moved out to the compound and they had been staying there the last two nights until the new apartment was ready.

She had her chemistry textbook open in front of her, but she was nowhere near focused. She kept glancing at her Starkpad which sat at the end of her bed.

After reading the same line for the twentieth time, she closed her textbook with a snap startling Lucky whose head shot up with a snort.

"Sorry boy." She said rubbing her face with her hands.

Lucky bumped her cheek with his nose.

She sighed and turned to give him attention for a moment. "It's going to eat away at me until I look." She said quietly. Grabbing the pad off her bed, she quickly broke through Tony's files and found the ones that she was looking for: the footage from the ferry.

She waited to see what happened, she was surprised to have her answer so quickly. The man that had shown up at the school, who had tried to kill Peter the night of Liz's party, was sitting on the top level of the ferry talking to a man that was sitting with his back to the camera.

"That's the guy from the bridge." Peter's voice said in the background. "Who's that other guy?"

"There is no record of him in my criminal database." The suits AI said.

Kate didn't need the database; she froze as he turned around. That was Liz's dad.

…

Kate sat still on a high stool in the bathroom while Natasha stood in front of her, doing her makeup. Natasha had already completed her work on Kate's hair, which was pinned back carefully with a few curls loose to frame her face.

"Are you excited?" Natasha asked as she lightly pulled the makeup brush along Kate's cheek.

"I am." Kate said smiling.

And she was, but she was also distracted by what she had found out last night. Not telling Peter had become one of the hardest things she had to do. She had wanted to immediately call him, but really, now with them both grounded there wasn't much they could do.

She had gone to the workshop to talk to Tony but when she mentioned the Vulture guy she had immediately been met with resistance. Tony had been just as adamant as the others about her and Peter staying away from it, so she hadn't been able to get out what she had found.

Kate closed her eyes so Natasha could put the finishing touches against her eyelids then Natasha hurried Kate up without letting her look in the mirror so she could get into her dress. Once she was dressed, she was ushered into the bedroom and faced the full-length mirror, taking in the sight. Her makeup was minimal except for the smoky look around her eyes which drew focus to her blue-grey eyes, making them stand out. She wore black heeled booties that she could run in if she needed to. The dress was beautiful, it was black, the skirt flowing down to her knees. The halter top went to her neck and then crossed at her back in thin straps, leaving most of the skin on her back exposed. However, the detail of the dress was what was perfect. The beads on the bodice were arranged to resemble feathers and the lace on the skirt held the same intricate, but delicate patterns.

Hawk feathers. She thought idly to herself. She was speechless, Kate hadn't gotten the dress, Natasha had just said that she had found the perfect one. Natasha was right.

"You look beautiful." Natasha said hugging her gently, both their gazes trained onto the mirror.

"Thank you, Nat." Kate said turning to hug her tightly.

Natasha pulled back first and carefully tucked a loose curl out of Kate's eyes and back into place. The look on her face was one that Kate had never seen before. Almost as if she were memorizing Kate's face.

"Nat, are you okay?" Kate asked softly.

Natasha smiled. "I am." She said. "Just happy."

Kate wasn't quite ready to accept that, but they were interrupted.

"Kate are you ready to go—" Clint froze as he saw her. "Wow…"

Kate smiled tentatively. "How do I look?" She asked.

Clint shook his head slightly to clear the daze. "Like, not my baby sister anymore." He said teasingly. He walked over and gave a bow, holding out his hand. "May I have the first dance?"

Giggling, Kate curtsied and took his hand. "You may." She said and Clint spun her out, and she spun back before they danced together for a moment.

After a minute they stopped, Clint taking her hands. "You look beautiful." He said earnestly.

Though she could hear the emotion in his voice, Kate was kind enough not to point it out. She hugged him instead and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I love you big brother." She said.

"Love you, kid." He said back, tightening his arms around her. He pulled back after a second, clearing his throat. "Come on, as much as I don't want to drive you to your first date, we gotta go or you'll be late."

Kate smiled brightly. She had been a little annoyed at Tony when he had decided to withhold the car that was promised, but she had a founded suspicion if she hadn't asked about the Vulture she would have still had it, however, she was actually happy that Clint was going to take her, even if he was just dropping her off at Peter's and May was taking them the rest of the way.

Heading out, they passed by the common area where most everyone had congregated.

"Wow!" Sam said being the first one to spot her. "She actually looks like a normal little lady."

Kate narrowed her eyes playfully. "As opposed to…"

"A spy." Bucky replied with a smile.

Kate grinned.

"Yeah, except no high kicks in that skirt." Clint commented.

"Actually, I have yoga shorts under this." Kate replied. "Not gonna pull a Marilyn."

Lucky barked at her, almost as if he was warning about the time. She gave him scratches really quick and went to follow Natasha to the door while Clint went to get the car.

"You have everything?" Natasha asked.

"Yep." Kate nodded. While normal people would be referring to lip gloss and a cell phone, Natasha was referring to the knife that Kate had strapped to her thigh and her bracelet which was a compact Widow's Bite.

She may not be active, but she wouldn't be unprotected.

Jumping into the SUV, Kate waved as they pulled away from the compound.

The drive to the city had been surprisingly peaceful. As they sang along to the radio together, Kate found that she actually missed living on the farm to a certain degree, just for long drives like this one.

Kate texted Peter to give him an ETA and Peter was waiting outside the apartment with May, who was by her car.

…

Clint moved past Peter to go talk with May, working out the final details of the night. However, Peter's eyes were glue to Kate as he watched her get out of the car.

"Whoa." Peter felt the air leave his lung as he looked at Kate. She always looked beautiful to him, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. "You look incredible."

Kate blushed slightly. "Thank you." She said shyly. She reached up and straightened his tie just a bit. "You look pretty great yourself."

"So, I will pick them up tonight and drop Peter back here around 11-ish." Clint was saying to May as they walked over as Peter slipped the corsage around her wrist not adorned with the Window's Bite.

"Yeah, sounds perfect." May said smiling. She covered her mouth as she looked at Kate. "Oh, look how beautiful you look!"

Kate smiled. "Thanks May." She said.

May smiled at the two for a moment before she remembered herself. "Come on, come on." She urged them to the car.

"Peter, one second." Clint called quietly, not enough to alert May, but Kate glanced back at them as she followed May. Peter swallowed and moved back towards the archer cautiously. "You forgot this Friday."

Peter watched Clint pulled out his backpack from the back seat. "Oops." He said. "Thank you for bringing it."

As he took hold of the backpack, Clint gripped it tighter, forcing Peter to stumble forward just a bit.

"I won't list out all the people that have wanted your head from the minute you asked her out." Clint said lightly, however, his normal carefree smile was nonexistent as he looked the teen in the eye. "Not one tear ever falls from her eyes because of you. Understand?"

Peter nodded somberly. "I understand." He said straightening his back and shoulders. "You have my word."

Clint's smile returned eyes bright again as he released the backpack. "Have fun tonight then." He said. "I will pick you guys up at 10:30."

Peter watched the older man get in the SUV and drive away before he turned back to where his aunt and Kate were waiting. Kate smiled carefully at him as he tossed his backpack in the front seat of the car.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." Peter said honestly.

She raised an eyebrow. "What did he say to you?" She asked.

Peter smiled. "Just reminding me not to leave my backpack." He said, making it obvious he couldn't tell her.

…

Shaking her head, Kate smiled and let it drop. She figured that Clint would give Peter a "talk", but she did admire that Peter was willing to keep it between him and Clint.

They both piled into the back seat of May's car. It was a fun ride with May chatting away excitedly and making them promise they would get pictures before they went inside.

Pulling up in front of the school, a lot of other students were already there, more arriving by the second. Peter offered Kate a hand to help her out of the car which she accepted.

"Okay, quick picture." May said with a proud smile on her face.

Though he was mindful that May was going to send these pictures to Natasha as well, Peter wrapped his arm around her waist, and she put her hand against his shoulder showing the corsage to the camera. After the pictures were taken the two teens smiled at each other. They had been through a lot to be here right now.

"Peter! Kate!"

The two looked up to see Liz wave at them. They said goodbye to May and moved towards the senior girl and her date. Kate tensed at Peter's side, gripping his hand a little tighter as she saw Adrian Toomes standing by the classic car. Peter glanced at her and then looked up; she knew the exact moment he saw what she was looking at as he gripped her hand back.

"Dad, you remember Kate." Liz said.

"Of course." Mr. Toomes smiled. "It's great to see you again."

Kate forced a smile, pulling on her acting abilities. "You as well sir." She replied shaking his hand.

Liz introduced Peter as well, who shook his hand.

"Quite the grip you have there." Toomes commented.

"Peter works with Kate at Stark Industries." Liz said. "They work for Tony Stark."

Toomes expression changed subtly as he heard this. "Really? Stark?" He said. He tried to bring his tone back to neutral. "So cool. What do you do?"

"Yeah, actually, I don't intern for him anymore." Peter said carefully.

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" She said.

"Yeah, it got...boring." Peter's nervousness was radiating into Kate.

Liz looked like she didn't believe it. "It was boring? You got to hang out with Spider-Man." She said.

Warning lights went off in Kate's brain as she watched Toomes take interest in that. "Really? Spider-Man?" He said curiously. "What's he like?"

"Yeah, he's nice." Kate said carefully trying to take the attention off Peter.

"Nice man." Peter agree quietly. "Solid dude."

Liz, who was half paying attention to her phone, didn't noticed the tension and she showed her phone to Kate, showing a picture on Instagram that some of the other girls had posted from getting ready for the dance. "Look. So cute." She said which Kate smiled at.

Toomes was back to studying Peter. "I've seen you around, right? I mean...somewhere. We've—Have we ever—?" Peter shook his head and Kate felt her heart leap into her throat. "Because even the voice—"

"He does Academic Decathlon with me." Liz said. "And he was at my party."

"It was a great party, really great, yeah." Peter said. "Beautiful house, a lot of windows."

Liz rolled her eyes. "You were there for, like, two seconds." She said.

Kate pinpointed the exact moment that Toomes figured it out and she felt a chill go down her spine.

"That was—" Peter stuttered. "I was there longer than two seconds."

"You disappeared." Liz looked at him like he was crazy.

"No. No, I did not disappear." Peter tried to insist.

Liz, of god's sake shut up. Kate thought as she gripped Peter's hand to steady him.

"Yes, you did." Liz said. "You disappeared like you always do, like you did in D.C. too."

Shit. Kate thought.

"That's terrible what happened down there in D.C. though." Toomes said. "Were you scared? I'll bet you were glad when your old pal Spider-Man showed up in the elevator though, huh?"

"Yeah, well, I actually didn't go up." Peter said looking at Kate, who met his gaze. "I saw it all from the ground."

"We were very lucky that he was there that day." Kate commented lightly turning her gaze back to Toomes.

Toomes nodded. "Yeah. Good old Spider-Man." He said.

Liz looked at him. "Dad, aren't you going to be late for your flight?" Liz asked.

"Yeah." Toomes nodded, back to acting like the cheerful father. "Love you, gumdrop."

"Have a safe flight." Liz said. "Love you."

Toomes gave her a hug and got into the car before Liz and her date headed towards the building. Kate and Peter moved to follow but Toomes cleared his throat.

"Kate, one second." He said.

They froze and looked back at him. The façade was gone, he knew.

"Does she know?" Toomes asked, nodding towards where Liz had disappeared.

"Know what?" Peter asked.

Toomes nodded. "So, she doesn't. Good." He said. "Close to the vest, small circle. I admire that." He reached into his glovebox and Kate tensed as she saw the glint of the gun. "I've got a few secrets of my own." He looked at the two. "I always thought that Spider-Man couldn't have been working alone. The way that Liz said you took over with getting people off the elevator…Peter, Kate...nothing is more important than family. You two saved my daughter's life. I could never forget something like that. So, I'm gonna give you one chance. Are you ready?" The two teens looked at him somberly. "You walk through those doors, you forget any of this happened...and don't you ever, ever...interfere with my business again. Because if you do...I'll kill you...and everybody you love. That's what I'll do to protect my family. Do you understand?"

Both nodded in response, but Kate's blood was boiling at the threat.

"I just saved your life." Toome said. "Now what do you say?"

"Thank you." Peter said.

Kate grit her teeth. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Toome said. "Now you go on in there and have a good time, okay?"

They watched him drive away, Peter handed Kate his phone, letting her toss it into the back of the car before they moved towards the building.

…

Walking into the gym where the dance was already going, they saw Ned, Michelle, and the rest of their friends dancing laughing together. Liz was dancing with her friends.

Peter felt a pit in his stomach as he looked at Liz, the fact that her father was the bad guy changing everything. He felt a slight pull at his arm and turned to Kate.

Kate looked up at him and he looked back to her. "We can't leave it." She said softly.

He nodded in agreement. Benched or not, they had jobs to do.

The two raced out of the gym, unaware of Ned and Michelle watching them leave. Running through the deserted hallway, they stopped briefly at the locker where Peter grabbed his backup web shooters and old costume.

Running out the back door, Peter's spidey sense going off immediately, he pushed Kate forward out of harm's way before he got hit by an electric force, knocking him sideways. Despite the spasms that wracked his body from the shock, he looked for Kate who rolled forward and looked back to the assailant, Herman Sholtz, whom they had been calling Shocker.

"He gave you a choice." Sholtz said in a bored tone. "You chose wrong."

"What the hell?" Peter muttered trying to push himself up.

Sholtz looked at him. "What's with the crappy costume?" He asked.

Peter looked over. My web-shooters. He thought seeing them sitting on the pavement. He saw Kate holding her knife and he briefly wondered where she had been keeping it. He raised a hand slightly to stop her from attacking. He could take the hit from the shocker weapons, but she wouldn't be able to. He watched her step back before he made a dash for his web shooters.

However, Sholtz was waiting for him and hit him again, sending Peter through one of the school buses.

"I wasn't sure about this thing at first, but damn." Sholtz said.

Peter looked at the gum under the seat of the bus. "Gross." He muttered before he got out of the bus only to be hit with the shocker weapons again. "Why did he send you here?" Peter asked, pained.

"Guess you'll never know." Sholtz said raising his hand to strike Peter again, only for a web to connect with the gauntlet.

Peter's head whipped over to see Ned holding the web shooter. "Nice shot!" He cried before grabbing the web to yank Sholtz off balance and kick him back before pulling the web shooter to himself and pinning Sholtz to the side of the bus.

"Yes!" Ned cried in amazement.

Peter ran over to him as Kate reached him. She was on the phone. "Ned, the guy with the wings is Liz's dad." He said.

"What?" Ned said in shock.

Kate hung up. "I've tried everyone, no one is picking up." She looked at him. "Bruce is testing a new power source it's messing with the signals out at the compound. We're on our own."

"I gotta tell Mr. Stark." Peter said, turning to Ned. "Call Happy Hogan. He's Mr. Stark's head of security. Get a computer and track my phone."

"Will you be okay?" Ned asked looking at them.

"Hurry, we gotta catch him..." Peter said. "Before he leaves town."

Kate gasped as Peter wrapped an arm around her waist and used a web to slingshot them out of the parking lot. It didn't take long before Kate pointed to Flash driving a shiny convertible with his date. He set Kate down around the corner and went to get the car.

"I'm sorry about dinner..." Flash was telling his date. "but I know when branzino's fresh, and that was not fresh, okay? So—" He screamed as Peter landed on the hood of the car.

"Flash, I need your car and phone." Peter said adjusting his voice.

"Sir, technically, this is my dad's car, sir." Flash tried to protest. "So, I can't—"

It didn't take long to get them out of the car before Peter drove off. He stopped around the corner letting Kate jump into the driver's seat while he called Ned.

"Hello, Ned? Hey, hey, can you hear me?" He said putting the phone on speaker.

"Go for Ned." Came the reply.

Peter braces as Kate whipped the car away from the curb, entering traffic. "Ned, I need you..." he grunted as he struggled to stay upright as Kate wove through traffic. "...to track my phone."

"Yeah, but where is it?" Ned asked. Peter explained quickly what happened. "Genius move. Okay, he just passed the GameStop on Jackson Avenue."

"You couldn't have stolen a less conspicuous then Flash's?" Kate asked as she kept an eye out for cops.

"You stole Flash's car." Ned laughed. "Awesome."

"Yeah, it's awesome. it's—" Peter broke off at Kate swerved around a taxi, cutting between two other cars and nearly hitting a pedestrian. "Get out of the way, get out of the way!" He said as Kate yelled. "Move!"

"Are you okay?" Ned asked in concern.

"Yeah." Kate said calmly. "This is not as bad as driving in Manila."

Peter looked at her calm demeanor and had so many questions.

So did Ned. "We are gonna need to hear these stories." He said.

Kat smiled patiently. "Ned focus." She said. "Have you gotten through to Happy yet?"

"Yeah. I'm working on it." Ned said. "I just gotta backdoor the phone system." They lost him for a moment as he patched through to the Stark Industries phone system.

"Ned where's my phone now?" Peter called.

"He stopped in an old industrial park in Brooklyn." Ned said.

Peter paused and he looked at Kate who was frowning as well. "What? That makes no sense. He said he was going out of town." Peter said.

"Weird. Oh, I reached Mr. Happy." Ned said. "Don't think he likes you, by the way. It sounded like he was catching a flight. He said something about taking off."

"What?" Peter said.

Kate gasped. "Of course!" She said. "Moving day!"

"He's gonna rob that plane." Peter said. "We gotta stop him!"

Kate pulled out her phone to try to get through to Happy. After a second she gave up. "I gotta get to the tower." She said. "Maybe I can delay the flight."

"Okay, slow down." Ned said. "You're getting close. It's on your right."

Peter thought quickly. "You go. I'll try to stop him here." He said.

…

Spinning the car onto the lot, Kate tensed. "What?" She demanded. "No, I'm not leaving you here."

"It's our best option." Peter said. "You need to stop that plane."

Realistically she knew that Peter was right, but she didn't feel right about leaving him. "Be careful." She said.

Peter nodded. "You too. Ned keep trying to get through to Happy." He said.

Kate watched him leap from the car before she peeled out of the lot and raced towards the Tower.


	32. Chapter 32

**New chapter. I hope that I can have the remainder of the story wrapped up in the next chapter, possibly with an epilogue...I dunno. The one thing I know is that I need to get this finished before I write any more of my other story because happy-ish AU vs. Endgame is not going over well in my brain, which is probably why this chapter feels off to me. Sorry if you guys don't like it, I may re-write it after I finish Iron Maiden. **

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Carefully easing himself through the skylight in the warehouse, Peter moved silently through the darkened building looking for Toomes. It didn't take him long to find the man standing at a table in the middle of a massive room.

His spidey sense was blaring at him and he could almost hear Kate's voice in his head telling him to back out now that something was wrong.

But he had to stop Toomes.

"Hey!" Peter called walking forward. "Surprised?"

Toomes turned around, seeming unconcerned. "Oh, hey, Pete." He said leaning against the table. "I didn't hear you come in."

"It's over." Peter said. "I've got you."

"You know, I gotta tell you, Pete..." Toomes said. "I really, really admire your grit. I see why Liz liked you. I do. When I first saw you...I wasn't sure." He shrugged. "I thought, "Really?" But I get it now."

"How could you do this to her?" Peter demanded.

"To her?" Toomes looked surprised, then shook his head. "I'm not doing anything to her, Pete. I'm doing this for her."

Peter scoffed, shaking his head.

Toomes sighed. "Peter...you're young. You don't understand how the world works." He said. "You and Kate are in over your heads."

"But I understand that selling weapons to criminals is wrong." Peter replied.

"How do you think your buddy Stark paid for that tower?" Toomes demanded, angry. "Or any of his little toys? Those people, Pete, those people up there...the rich and the powerful, they do whatever they want. Guys like us..." He motioned between them. "...like you and me...they don't care about us. We build their roads, and we fight all their wars...and everything, but they don't care about us. We have to pick up after them. We have to eat their table scraps. That's how it is." Toomes straightened a bit. "I know you know what I'm talking about, Peter."

"Why are you telling me this?" Peter asked.

"Because I want you to understand." Toomes said. "And…I needed a little time to get her airborne."

…

Kate pulled up to the tower and raced inside. She keyed the elevator, but it refused to respond, her credentials wiped from the system. "Shit." She hissed in Russian. Switching back to English, she whispered. "Okay, what did Tony say…oh right."

Looking around, she quickly hit her Widow's Bite into the panel. She had a quick second to override it while the panel was fried. The elevator doors opened. "Yes!" She said and hit the top floor button. While she waited for the elevator to reach the top, she tried to call Clint, and everyone else. "At least one person should be able to pick up their phone!"

The elevator opened and she raced out, heading for the landing pad. She didn't see Happy anywhere, but the hanger door to the plane was still open so she moved towards the ramp, heading inside the plane.

"I've got shut this thing down." Kate muttered softly.

She was almost to the cockpit when she heard a sound that she did not need to hear. The ramp was closing. "Happy wait!" It was too late; she was locked inside. "Oh no." She looked around. "Peter, I hope you got him at the warehouse."

…

Peter frantically dodged the flying suit as he tried to slice him to ribbons but missed him by a wide margin.

"I'm sorry, Peter." Toomes said after a second.

"What are you talking about?" Peter asked confused. "That thing hasn't even touched me yet."

Toome smiled. "True. Then again…wasn't really trying to." As he said that, the building collapsed on Peter. He took that moment to leave.

Peter strained underneath the concrete and steel. "Hello? Hello!" He called feeling panic setting in. "Please, hey. Hey, please. I'm down here. I'm down here. I'm stuck. I'm stuck. I can't move. I can't—" He paused for a moment as he caught sight of his reflection in a puddle of water in front of his face, his mask obscuring half of the image.

_If you're nothing without this suit, then you shouldn't have it._

"Come on, Peter." He whispered to himself as he thought about Tony's words. "Come on, Spider-Man."

_I need your help, but you can't do that unless you are calm and focused._

_Kate. _"Come on, Spider-Man." Peter said louder as he pushed the at the massive pieces trying to crush him. "Come on, Spider-Man. Come on, Spider-Man!"

_Go get 'em Spider-Man._

…

Kate looked around at the containers. She went to the control panel and activated the shipping manifest, scanning for something useful. It didn't take her long to find a file labeled B.H.

"Baby Hawk." She muttered with a roll of her eyes but never being happier to see it.

Finding the container that she was looking for; she found a wonderful new bow paired with a high-tech quiver and a plethora of specialty arrows. Not that it mattered as a purple light began to form on the floor signaling the phase shifter that Peter had seen previously.

Cursing the timing, she moved back behind a crate, carefully peaking around the edge to see Toomes climb into the plane.

_Where's Peter? _

She watched as he moved with purpose towards the cockpit, talking to someone over a comm.

Kate carefully shadowed him, interested in gathering more information if possible before she took him out.

"Cloning transponder signal." Toomes said to whoever his 'guy in the chair' was. "Entering new coordinates."

Toomes moved back into the cargo area.

Kate took a deep breath, ready to fight when she heard a familiar ding from her phone. She froze in horror as she grabbed her phone in the pocket of her dress, silencing it. Glancing at the screen, she saw it was Clint. Looking back, she saw Toomes had indeed heard it and was turning to face her direction but before he could step forward, the hole in the floor suddenly started sucking air.

Turning to a panel, Toomes activated the video feed. Squinting, Kate could see Peter kicking at the wingsuit, which was sealed over the hole in the bottom of the plane.

She breathed a quiet sigh of relief at seeing him safe. With Toomes distracted, heading back to his suit, she took that moment to get to the cockpit and sit at the controls. Pulling out her phone, she set it down as she dialed Clint back and prayed that it went through as she worked on overriding the hacked autopilot.

_"Hey kiddo."_ She had never been so happy to hear her brother's voice. _"Dance that boring?"_

"I'm sure it's to be as expected." Kate said. "Hey, random question, do you know how to pilot a cargo plane?"

The silence on the other end was deafening for half a second before the explosion hit. "What the hell did you do?!"

"Don't yell at me!" Kate snapped. "I wouldn't even be here if _any_ of you answered your freaking phones!"

She heard Clint swear under his breath before calling. _"Cap, there's a problem."_ He sounded a little distant. _"You're on speaker. Where are you?"_

"Probably close to Coney Island." Kate said as she got control of the ship. Clint gave her a few clipped instructions on how to keep the plane steady as Natasha looked for a place to land the plane.

She heard Steve tell Vision to head out. _"Help is on the way."_ Steve said. _"Where's Peter?"_

Kate glanced up to see him by the window before he disappeared from sight. "On the outside of the plane fighting the Vulture guy." She said.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the plane and warning lights went off everywhere. "Oh God!" She said as the plane started losing altitude.

…

"Just a typical homecoming..." Peter muttered to himself. "...on the outside of an invisible jet...fighting my classmate's dad with my girlfriend." He looked up to see the razor-sharp wings coming at him. Dodging out of the way, his webs were cut, and he went towards one of the turbines. "Oh, God!" He quickly fired his webs, trying to not get sucked into the engine, thankfully landing unharmed against the mat of webs. "I can't believe that worked."

Spoken too soon as the whole turbine blew and separated from the plane.

…

Kate saw the bright lights ahead as the plane dropped quickly. She could see from the video feed outside that Peter was pulling on the flap on the wing. _Please don't fall off Peter. _She thought as she pulled on the controls with all her strength, turning with him. "Please turn, please turn, please turn!" She cried.

Thankfully missing any buildings, the plane knocked out a spire and rushed towards the beach. Next thing Kate knew, she was opening her eyes, feeling pain everywhere.

She could vaguely heard Clint's voice from somewhere, but she didn't see her phone in the immediate vicinity. Her ears were ringing, and her head throbbed. Reaching up, she felt something warm and wet trickling down her temple. Pulling her hand away, she saw red coating her fingers. _Peter._Pushing herself out of the pilot chair, she moved to get out of the wrecked plane.

The minute she stepped down on her left leg, it tried to give out. She looked down and saw a jagged cut running from her ankle to mid-calf. Taking her knife, she quickly tore a strip from her skirt and wrapped the fabric around her leg, biting back a cry before moving again.

As she made her way out carefully, she saw the case with her bow and some arrows scattered among some of the other things. Grabbing it, she walked to the opening that had been blown in the side of the plane.

Quickly scanning the wreckage, she spotted Peter starting to stand up in the sand looking wobbly and disorientated. Her relief turned to panic as she saw Toomes.

"Peter!"

…

Peter sat up painfully, pulling his mask off before looking around at the fire and carnage. Standing up, he felt unsteady, his balance was off, and he staggered a bit before getting his feet under himself. It took a second for him to realize that he wasn't hearing anything from his surroundings.

Looking up, he focused on the plane, which was completely wrecked. After a second he saw Kate appear by the plane. He met her gaze, and watched horror fill her eyes. She screamed something, but he couldn't hear it.

It didn't take long to figure it out as the Toomes flew into sight coming straight for him. He tried to stumble back, his hearing coming back into sharp focus as he heard the buzz from the wingsuit, but he wasn't quick enough and was knocked backwards.

Standing up quickly, he saw the wingsuit was badly damaged but Toomes was still going to attack. Peter rolled forward, avoiding the razor wings and heard an explosion. Turning, he saw Kate fire two arrows in quick succession hitting the wings, but it was still flying.

Peter dodged out of way of the wings again before was knocked onto his back and Toomes came down. Peter cried out in pain as the talons dug into his torso and he was lifted up high into the air. He could saw Kate aiming but she didn't have a shot with him in the way. Peter gripped onto the talons and pulled, breaking them, releasing him and he dropped. He managed to catch onto the wingsuit with his webs before he landed on a heap of twisted metal and Kate fired two more arrows at the suit, aiming for the small turbines.

Peter was thrown up into the air and after a few spins he landed in the sand close to Kate. She fired another arrow and the left wing sparked up, nearly crumbling but she was now out of arrows at the suit wasn't down.

Peter shoved her out of the way as Toomes flew at them and he took the brunt of the hit. Stabbing the wing through the hood of his suit, Toomes lifted Peter up by the hoodie. However, Toomes looked past him, something catching his attention and he tossed Peter aside.

…

Kate limped over, dropping next to Peter as Toomes threw him aside, heading for a crate of Chitauri power cores. She gripped Peter's arm as they watched the wingsuit spark.

"Your wingsuit." Peter called. "Your wingsuit's going to explode!"

Peter pushed himself up and shot a web out, catching onto the crate. It tugged him to his feet, but he pulled back, trying to get the explosive cores away from the damaged suit. Kate painfully got to her feet and placed her hands over Peter's helping him pull.

"Time to go home, kids." Toomes said.

"We're trying to save you!" Peter called.

Toomes cut the webbing and they both fell backwards. They watched as the suit flew up but then failed.

Peter rolled over and covered her, both clinging together as the crate and suit dropped causing another big explosion. Rolling back, they both looked at the scene in horror.

"No." Peter said. "No!"

"Peter, wait!" Kate called as he pushed himself up and ran towards where the suit had gone down. She could only watch and wait helplessly.

After a second, she let out her held breath as she saw Peter reappear from the flames carrying Toomes over his shoulder. Peter dropped Toomes into the sand and collapsed down in exhaustion, coughing from all the smoke. Kate eased over and gently pulled on him until he was sitting up. He got up and helped her stand. He went to retrieve an arrow and handed it to Kate, who aimed at Toomes, standing guard while Peter rounded up the fallen tech.

"I hope that was all worth it." Kate said looking at Toomes.

As sirens reached their ears, Peter finished placing everything into a massive pile before webbing it up like shrink wrap and then webbing Toomes to the pile before leaving a note.

"Can you walk?" Peter asked in concern, looking at her leg.

"I'll be fine." Kate smiled but admittedly wasn't sure if she could.

Peter quickly scooped her up into his arms, her arms instinctively going around his neck. The park had been evacuated so they were able to make it to the top of the Cyclone without being spotted. They sat on the railings, watching as Happy and damage control arrived on scene.

Kate reaches out and laced her fingers with Peter's as they watched the scene below.

"Mr. Parker, Miss. Barton."

Both teens looked up startled to see Vision floating down to them.

"Viz?" Kate said quietly.

Vision looked over the two briefly, most likely cataloging visible injuries. "Clint and Natasha are on their way to take you both back to the compound." He said before looking out at the damage, seeming surprised by the sight.

True to what he said, Kate picked out a black SUV into scene and she saw her brother get out of the driver's seat with Natasha getting out of the passenger seat. He looked around zeroing in on them quickly. Clint put a hand to his ear saying something into a comm.

Kate's idle thought wondering who he was talking to was answered as Vision picked her up giving Peter instruction to wait there for a minute. Vision flew down and set Kate in front of Clint making sure she was stable before he went back up to get Peter.

"Are you okay?" Clint asked.

"Uhh…" she looked at the wreckage and then down at herself. "Sure."

Clint smirked and opened the back door. "Come on." He said helping her into the back seat of the SUV as Vision landed with Peter.

…

Kate found Peter in his room on the medical wing, both teens now showered and in clean clothes. She stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame to get the weight off her leg as she watched Peter stare outside the window at the activity going on outside as the cargo from the plane was brought in on trucks. They had just spent the last two hours going over the events at the school to the plane and Kate properly chastised the adults when they tried to lecture them since she had proof that she had attempted to call them each about fifteen times.

"Hey." She said softly.

Peter jumped and turned to face her with wide eyes.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly.

Shaking his head, Peter walked over and helped her hop into the room further. "I think you're the only one that has been able to sneak up on me." He said.

"That means I'm good at my job." She replied with a proud smile. It softened after a second as they stood together at the window. "Are you okay?"

Peter nodded after a second. "Yeah." He said quietly. "I'm just thinking about what will happen to Liz's dad now…what will happen to that family."

Kate was silent for a long moment as they stared out the window. "Peter, you know that he needs to answer for what he did right?" She said. "No matter, his reasons, he still hurt a lot of people with the weapons that he sold and not to mention he tried to kill you quite a few times."

"I know." Peter said quickly. "I know. I get it, but…"

_But a family was still being ruined. _Kate sighed and leaned on his shoulder carefully, his hand going to her elbow to steady her. She placed a gentle kiss to his cheek. "You're a good man Mr. Parker." She said quietly.

Peter turned more so he could hold her in his arms, supporting most of her weight with ease. He rested his forehead against hers. "How are you doing?" He asked. "Your leg…"

"I'll be fine." She said looking up at him, but his eyes were closed. "Bruce said I will make a full recovery." She furrowed her brow in concern as she watched him. "Hey…" She coaxed gently. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

Peter opened his eyes finally and looked at her. "I'm glad you're okay." He said.

Knowing that he was being serious, Kate had other ideas to get him out of his head. "I have to be." She said. "You still owe me a proper date."

Without giving him the chance to respond, she pressed a kiss to his lips before she separated, carefully hopping over to the door. "Come on." She said. "Sam made lasagna."


	33. Chapter 33

**New chapter. Note at the end.**

**As always, please review :)**

* * *

Kate still had a bit of a limp when she got to school on Monday, but it was an easy thing to hide. Peter was already waiting for her at her locker that morning. She smiled faintly as she walked up, wrapping her arms around him, her head tucked under his chin for a minute enjoying the quiet before everyone started arriving.

A few people threw surprised glances in their direction, but Kate was far from caring. It had simply been too long of a week, hell too long of a year, for her to be concerned about it at this point.

As the volume coming from the direction of the front doors increased, Kate pulled back only feeling the slightest hesitance from Peter in letting her go. They moved to Peter's locker to wait for Ned, but before long the latest buzz from the students reached their ears and both felt their hearts drop.

The whole school was talking about the Liz's dad being arrested for the hijacking of the Stark Industries plane and the damage that it had caused at the beach.

Before they could get drawn too deeply down their hole of introversion, Ned arrived, jabbering at a hundred miles an hour. "It looked so insane. That whole—" Ned imitated a blast noise. "Like, it was just crazy. He—He was just, like...And you were like...And then I just hit him with the...It was so—" Ned took a break shaking his head. "Oh, my God."

Kate saw the small smile on Peter's face, and she squeezed his waist as they walked together. She was putting some of her weight on him as they walked.

"I mean, you saved me." Peter said to Ned with a smile.

"You saved both of us." Kate chimed in feeling Peter's arm tighten around her.

Ned smiled. "It was awesome."

As Ned lapsed into a brief moment of quiet, Kate looked up to see Liz was walking down the hall with her mother and Principal Morita. Mrs. Toomes was carrying a box of Liz's belongings from her locker.

There was a bitter taste in Kate's mouth as she watched some of Liz's friends rush up to hug her goodbye. It wasn't as if she were unsympathetic to the problem the teen was going through considering one of her brothers was sitting in the Raft, but she also knew there weren't any words that could make it better.

She felt Peter's arm tighten around her, but she couldn't bring herself to look up at him.

…

"Congratulations, decathlon national champions." Mr. Harrington announced as he set their trophy on the table as they all gathered around.

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

Kate smiled as she clapped lightly.

"I'll have to put this back in the trophy case soon…" Mr. Harrington said. "But just for motivation right now at this practice. I'm ahead of the game, but we will need a new team captain next year. So, I am appointing Michelle."

Kate looked up at the shocked girl and grinned brightly as she cheered with the others.

"Thank you." Michelle said. "My—My friends call me MJ."

Ned squinted slightly. "I thought you didn't have any friends." He said.

"I didn't." Michelle said.

Kate smiled at the subtle admission, shaking her head slightly. Her focus was drawn as Peter's phone dinged. Peaking over, she saw it was a message from Happy.

"I gotta go." Peter said looking up. He looked at Kate. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Kate said turning to grab her backpack.

MJ had other ideas. "Hey, where are you going?" She asked looking at them suspiciously. Peter looked at her wide eyed, unsure of what to say while Kate just looked up calmly. MJ zeroed in on the wide-eyed teen. "What are you hiding, Peter?" It was a tense second before MJ smiled. "I'm just kidding. I don't care. Bye."

Kate chuckled quietly and stood up with Peter. As they reached the door, Kate was distracted by Peter taking her hand and she missed MJ watching them as they left.

They walked down the empty hallway, checking quickly in both directions before slipping into the boy's bathroom where the message had said to go. It was…odd seeing Stark Industries' head of security in their high school.

"Hey, Happy." Peter said. "What—What are you doing here?"

Happy looked a bit sheepish. "I really owe you one you both." He said. "I don't know what I would do without this job. I mean, before I met Tony—"

Someone flushed one of the toilets, cutting him off. They all paused and looked at the stall as a boy walked out, pausing and giving them all a suspicious look as he went to the sink.

In probably one of the most awkward silences, they waited for the boy to leave before they were actually alone.

"So how long you been here?" Peter asked.

"Long enough to be awkward." Happy said. "Boss wants to see you."

Kate furrowed her brow slightly.

Peter glanced to the side. "Is he here too?" He asked.

"In the toilet?" Happy asked. "No, he's upstate."

Peter's eyes widened. "Upstate—Like, upstate-upstate?" He asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Happy said.

They trailed after the older man to the nondescript black car in the parking lot. Both climbed in the back and watched the buildings slowly start to decrease in size the further they got towards the edge of town.

As Kate stared out the window, she felt a gentle touch on her hand. Turning she smiled to see Peter's fingers wrapped around hers. She scooted across the seat to rest her head on his shoulder. She happened to catch the small smile on Happy's face as he glanced at them in the rearview mirror, but she just snuggled closer to Peter.

The closer that they got to the compound, the more excitement Kate felt. She was eager for Peter to see the new facility.

"Take a look." Happy called back. "It's pretty impressive, huh? They just finished remodeling the whole thing."

Peter glanced at Kate, who couldn't contain her grin as he looked out the window to see the facility the giant 'A' emblazoned on the front of the building.

The got out of the car and Kate couldn't help but giggle at the awed look on Peter's face as they walked up the steps into the main building. They stood at the large floor to ceiling windows and watched as the quinjet took off, which she knew was taking Sam, Steve, Wanda, and Vision to Belarus.

"You don't see that every day." Happy commented with a small smile as he looked at Peter's wide-eyed expression.

"Oh, there they are."

The three turned at Tony's voice to see him walking up with Clint. "How was the ride up?"

"Good." Happy said.

"Give me a minute with the kid." Tony said to his friend.

Happy gave him a flat look. "Seriously?" He said.

"Yeah." Tony said. "I gotta talk to the kid."

"I'll be close behind." Happy said.

Tony smiled. "How about a loose follow? All right? Boundaries are good." He said.

Clint, who rolled his eyes at the exchange tapped Kate's elbow and motioned for her to follow as they paced ahead of Tony and Peter, out of earshot even for Peter.

…

Peter watched as Clint lead Kate ahead of them, Kate only glancing back briefly with confusion in her eyes before she focused on her brother.

Tony punched his shoulder lightly before putting his shoulder as they walked. "Sorry I took your suit." He said. "You had it coming. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect tough-love moment that you needed. To urge you on, right? Wouldn't you think? Don't you think?"

Peter's mind stuttered for a second as he tried to catch up to what Tony was saying. "I guess." He said.

"Let's just say it was." Tony said.

"Mr. Stark, I really—"

"You screwed the pooch hard, bigtime." Tony cut him off. "But then you did the right thing. Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies…" Peter furrowed his brow slightly. "All right, not my best analogy. I was wrong about you. I think, with a little more mentoring…you could be a real asset to the team."

"To the—?" Peter paused as Tony took a couple steps ahead of them. "To the team?"

…

"Everything okay?" Kate asked looking at her brother.

Clint sighed. "You know where I stand on you being in the field." He said. "I want you to be safe." She shrugged; she knew this already. "But I also know that it is impossible for what I do not to affect you in some way."

Kate looked at him curiously. "Clint…"

"What you did this weekend…" Clint said with a sigh. "I was furious—" yeah, that she knew. "But I was also so proud of you." She looked at him in surprise. "When you couldn't get ahold of anyone, your only instinct was to go and you helped save countless lives."

Kate stopped and looked at her brother, Tony and Peter still heading towards them.

"There would be restrictions, obviously on what you would be allowed to participate with." Clint said. "But if it is something that you chose, that you wanted, then—"

"Yeah. Anyway…" Tony said coming up, obviously talking to Peter but cutting Clint off. "There's about 50 reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers. When you two are ready…" He pressed a button on his watch and a door opened to reveal two new suits. "Why don't you try that on? And I'll introduce the world to the two newest official members of the Avengers."

Kate froze, eyes trailing over the new suit, similar to Clint's but clearly tailor made for her. She stepped forward, speechless as she tried to take in everything about the suit at once.

"Can—What?" Peter stuttered as he walked forward, in awe of his own suit.

"Yeah, give that a look." Tony said grinning as he saw their looks of awe. Humble, the man was not. "After the press conference, Peter, Happy will show you to your room…your new quarters—Where's he between? He's next to Vision?" He asked looking back.

Kate frowned as she heard that, looking back at the billionaire.

"Yeah, Vision's not big on doors." Happy said.

"It's fun." Tony said meeting Kate's gaze.

"Or walls." Happy said.

Tony gave her a quick wink. "You'll fit right in." He said.

Kate looked at Peter and saw him mulling this information over. She glanced at Clint, who was leaning back against the wall near their suits with his arms crossed, watching them both impassively as they made their decisions.

Peter turned. "Thank you, Mr. Stark." He said. "But I'm good."

Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise. She looked at Clint and he looked as surprised as she did.

"You're good?" Tony looked at him confused. Kate wasn't fooled. "How are you good?"

Peter looked nervous under Tony's gaze. "Well, I mean, I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." He said sheepishly but with conviction. "Somebody's got to look out for the little guy, right?"

"You're turning me down?" Tony asked taking his glasses off. "You better think about this. Look at that." He pointed to the suit. "Look at me." Peter met his gaze. "Last chance. Yes or no?"

"No." Peter replied.

Tony paused for half a second before he shrugged. "Okay." He said looking up at Clint. "It's kind of a Springsteen-y, working-class hero vibe that I dig." He said. "Happy will take you home." He looked back at Happy. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Happy said seeming just as surprised as he stepped forward. He looked at Peter. "Mind waiting in the car? I need a minute."

Kate smiled when Peter looked at her. "I'll follow you in a minute." She said.

Peter smiled and turned to Tony. "Thank you, Mr. Stark." He said holding out his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Parker, very well." Tony said seriously, shaking his hand.

"See you around." Peter said moving off.

Tony nodded. "Okay." He said.

There was a moment of silence while they waited for him to get out of earshot.

"You knew he'd turn it down." Kate said softly so Peter wouldn't hear her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tony said just as softly, but the pride in his eyes gave it away.

Kate started to speak when she heard Peter's voice. "That was a test, right?" They turned to see Peter looking back at them. "There's nobody back there?"

"Yes, you passed." Tony said. Peter's face lit in a bright smile. "All right, skedaddle there, young buck."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter called and jogged out.

Tony smiled. "Yeah, thank you."

Happy smiled at Tony. "Told you he's a good kid." He said.

Clint stepped up and casually handed Tony $100 bill. Kate chuckled and just stood up on her toes to kiss Tony's cheek.

Suddenly eyes were on her.

"What about you kiddo?" Clint asked.

Kate paused to really consider it. "I think…"

* * *

**This might be the last chapter in the story. Maybe an epilogue if I am feeling inspired. Once I am done with Iron Maiden I will post an update here when the sequel is live! Thank you everyone for your support! **


	34. Sequel Update!

**The sequel is back on you guys! It's under the same title Broken Wings, but completely revamped! The first two chapters are now up! **


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